


Not Just the Healthy

by summerartist



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-03-28 19:47:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13910922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summerartist/pseuds/summerartist
Summary: Jack discovers something that leads him to the unpleasant conclusion that the Guardians have made a mistake. As he struggles to correct it he finds that he's in over his head.Only the Guardian of Hope can help him now.





	1. A Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> At first I thought that publishing too many hurt/comfort fics would ruin my fandom and art reputation yada yada. But then I remembered I don't give two straws about reputation.

Jack floated weightlessly across the sky with his roughly hewn crook clutched in his left fist while his right hand was spread wide. He felt the wind beneath his palm, resisting the outer parameters of his floating body. He smiled softly to himself as he wove and glided along. The sky was a deep blue color with dark clouds on the horizon. Besides the wind that buffeted him about all else was strangely still. There were no nighttime noises coming from the coons and coyotes and Sandman’s long tendrils of peaceful sleep had not reached this part of the land yet.

Jack felt no need to fill the silence in his personal wind vortex. The whistling lulled him in its familiar manner as he flew over treetops and buildings. Few people were out braving the cold. Adults went about their busy days in a rush to get indoors and greet their families in the warmth.

Jack’s shoulders drooped and every tensed muscle in his body relaxed as he flew. Here it was just him and Wind. (and Man in Moon of course)

He let his mind wander and drift in the chill. In his wind-dazed state he did not notice his predicament until he felt the staff being wrenched from his hand. The abrupt transition from clutching part of his lifeline to losing it brought him swiftly back to the present. It took him a split second to realize that Wind had taken the crook away. He had gotten too close to the storm on the horizon. Wind could not always control herself when a storm of this caliber was forming.

“Whoa!”

As if in slow motion Jack felt himself begin to fall. Thankfully he was not too far off the ground over the icy slopes. He tumbled, flailing indignantly as he was dropped to the ground. He landed unceremoniously in a heap of blue hoodie and long limbs. He was able to pick himself up again within the span of a few seconds. He sprang to his feet with the easy energy that came from eternal youth. Dusting himself off, he gave Wind a slightly reproachful look.

“You could have at least warned a spirit a little.”

As usual, Wind gave no response.

Jack rubbed his sore shoulder and started looking around. He was in a small field with houses just beyond it. He had lost track of what country he was in but if he had to guess he was in Canada or the northern US. It should not be too hard to find his staff again. The snow would outline anything that had fallen and the staff was not small. He shielded his eyes from the snow glare out of habit as he scanned his surroundings.

Sure enough, he spotted his trusty guide hidden in a long impression in the snow. He gave a satisfied noise as he trotted over to his crook. He reached down and grabbed it around the middle. As he lifted it he noticed something trickling over his hand and he felt something caking wetly across his knuckles. He glanced down.

“Ugh. What is this?”

Something gooey and dull green clung to his skin. It stretched and strained into tendrils from the ground to his staff where it was adhered to his icy palm. Jack knew instantly that he did not like it and wanted it off.

He wiggled his arm. The gel-like material flexed but clung on like wet cement. He waved his arm around and some of it came off, dropping wetly into the snow. The majority of it still held fast to his staff arm.

There had to be some way he could remove it. He wracked his brain for ideas. The solution came so quickly he could have kicked himself. Of course! Slight smile tugging at his lips, he shut his eyes. A cold fire burned within him originating from his core and limbs. Ice was summoned out from his body and it quickly encased the strange goop. Shards of ice bled through it and formed into crystals. Jack’s brow wrinkled with concentration and the short spires started to fracture. In a crash like breaking glass the frozen fluid shattered. Tinkling faintly, it fell onto the ground leaving imprints on the field of white.

Jack raised up his hand and examined it to make sure all traces of the foreign substance had been eradicated. He blinked when he found that his skin still had a green cast to it.

He froze and refroze his hand several times. Each time he targeted the blemish through his core until the ice fell away. He kept checking and rechecking his hand but the green sheen remained. He scowled deeply and considered. While the goo had not done him any harm he was wary of its strength to cling to him. Very little could pin down a spirit and he had repeatedly rejected the stuff to find it stubbornly tagging along like it belonged there. He was out of ideas on how to proceed. There must be some way to remove it or at least find out what it was.

His mind was instantly drawn to the appeal of asking another spirit about it. It had been a while since he had tagged along with his kind, especially the Guardians.

He had several run ins with their minions. He had encountered baby Tooth and a Yeti or two but Jack had not really stopped to chat. With Christmas around the corner and Toothiana buzzing about constantly he knew that those two were occupied. Sandman always invited Jack on his cloud. Still...Jack felt that it was best to have someone along to translate Sandy’s pictures for him. He was hardly well versed in them and the other Guardians had known him longer. That left Bunny.

Jack’s face lit up in a grin. The Warren was his second favorite Guardian dwelling. His favorite was North’s but the Yetis would likely shoo him away if he turned up at this time of year.

It had been a while since he had visited Mr. Grumpy Cottontail. Goodness knows Bunny needed a reminder to have fun now and then. Plus, Bunnymund was one of the longest lived Guardians and seemed to know all kinds of spirit lore. He would probably know all about the mysterious green goo and how to get rid of it.

His mind made up, Jack seized his staff and shot up into the sky. His previous leisurely glide had all but disappeared in his excited rush to visit Bunnymund. The Warren was waiting for him to visit its many wonders. He could go leaping through the falls and chasing the warren creatures through the maze of egg statues. There was much to do and to see in the land of spring.  
  
One thing was certain...it was time to have fun!


	2. Answers and Not Answers

Jack dropped softly into the burrowed out tunnel. The soil gained a frosty outer coating beneath his bare feet. He flexed his toes, enjoying the sensation of the grains for a moment.

Jack skipped along through the wide tunnel, past long forgotten carvings and artifacts. He passed by the bones of a bird and the layers of sediment that evidenced an ice age. His path was intersected with rays of light coming from other tunnels. This place was a maze. He kept going down through the largest chasm where the flowers bloomed and various exotic plant species reigned.

He found his footing on a thick springy carpet of grass. He was blinded with bright sunlight and he knew that at last he had reached the location of E. Aster Bunnymund. His smile widened as he stepped out into the clearing. As was expected, he was greeted silently by the stone sentinels. The eggs swiveled about and they leaned over almost drunkenly. Jack raised an eyebrow. He had never been greeted by the stone guards this way. Usually they either attempted to chase him out of the Warren if Bunny was busy or they steadfastedly kept to themselves.

“Hey guys.” Jack rested a hand on one of them. “What’s gotten you off kilter?”

The sentinels swiveled their heads around unhelpfully.

Jack caught the light breeze and strengthened it to propel him forward. Hopefully the golems’ confusion had nothing to do with something sinister in the Warren. He glided forward, alighting on the ground only briefly while his curiosity kept him surging forward again. He could hear voices ahead and it peaked his interest.

There was a patch of large ferns obscuring the speakers from view. Jack reached up and pushed the green fronds aside, following the voices. Their speech was happy and excited. Jack immediately brightened and his stance loosened. He could recognize the voices of children anywhere and sure enough when he pushed the plants aside, he was met with the sight of a little group of kids sitting on a flat rock.

They were bent at the waist, deep in concentration as they painted their eggs. They talked excitedly to each other and showed their friends their progress.

“Cute little ankle biters, aren’t they?”

Jack looked to the right to see Bunny looming over him with a proud smile. He winked.

“They’re helping me get a head start with the wooden googies.”

Jack started talking animatedly. “That’s great! Have you guys played any games yet? Can I paint with you all? Can-”

Bunny held up a hand and chuckled. “Slow down, mate. They just got here. We only have an hour and then we have to get them back to their parents. They only came for a little arts and crafts session anyway.”

When Jack deflated Bunny reached out and rested a hand on his shoulder. “They’ll be back again soon. These children are the offspring of believers. I went and got their parents' permission meself.”

Jack watched with fascination as the tiny children studiously continued their work. If only they could see him and allow him to join the egg painting. How he missed doing things like this.

“Bunny? Who are you talking to?” A little girl had appeared by their feet. She was staring up at the space where Jack stood. Only inches away from him she could not sense the winter spirit or feel the bite of his cold. Bunny smiled and exchanged a look with Jack.

“Lasses and lads,” Bunny called out loudly. “Everyone meet Jack Frost!”

Bunny held a paw out and pointed towards the frost sprite. The children mostly stared in bewilderment.

Before Jack could grow disheartened a small voice spoke up.

“Like in the song? He nips at your nose?”

The other children glanced at the small boy and watched Bunnymund for his reaction.

Jack laughed. “Only if you’ve got a tasty nose!” Jack reached down to tweak a girl’s nose with his snow magic. He was startled to find her looking directly into his eyes

“Jack Frost!” She squealed. She seemed just as startled as he was.

“Wha-oa!” One of the kids called out. Jack turned to find many of the kids blinking up at him.

Jack felt his jaw drop.

One elbowed the other. “Did you see that? He just appeared out of nowhere!” Their voices were excited and full of wonder.

Jack’s expression softened and he felt as if his face might break from grinning too widely. They were all believing in him so eagerly, so willing to accept the impossible. If his wistful expression came across rather strongly Bunny said nothing about it.

Jack laid a hand on the girl’s shoulder and started asking her questions about the egg painting while they walked over to the group. The kids crowded around them and marveled at Jack’s crook. Jack kept up the bright conversation as Aster walked quietly behind him. The pooka seemed content to hang back and let Jack have his moment with the kids. He knew how important this was to their newest Guardian. He smiled warmly while watching the happy spirit talk to the little ones.

Soon Jack was sitting with the group and painting his own egg decoration. Aster sat down slightly behind him. He worked on his egg and the children surrounded either side of him. Jack could sense Bunny watching him as much as he was watching the kids and the egg painting. Jack was applying a typical motif on his, snowflakes with a hint of golden dreamsand.

Bunny’s ears twitched in his direction. Jack was too caught up in the goings on to pay Bunny’s notice much heed. A child on his left rose to their feet and went running towards their friend, showing off their egg proudly. The spot was only vacant for a moment before Bunny scooted into it. His larger mass filled up the space as he was squeezed up against Jack. Bunny’s smile faltered a little as he pointed his paintbrush down at Jack’s egg.

“Nice design. It could use a little spring though.”

Jack smirked. “Oh no, I think it’s perfect just the way it is. Besides, you never let me dictate your artistic choices.”

Bunny snorted. His green gaze was still riveted downward. He switched his paintbrush to his other hand.

“Give me your paw.”

Jack stared blankly. “What?”

Jack found his hand wrapped within a fuzzy one. Bunny leaned down and sniffed his hand, nose wriggling slightly. Jack wore a bemused expression. The spirit of Easter was looking more serious now. It was then that Jack recalled the reason why he had decided to visit the Warren. Before he could say anything Bunny issued a warning.

“Keep still. This might sting a little.”

Bunny’s grip tightened on his wrist. He set his freshly painted egg aside and placed his paw over Jack’s afflicted hand. Bunny’s large paw completely engulfed it. The Guardian of Hope shut his eyes and Jack was left staring at his features as they smoothed out. Bunny’s breathing steadied as he inhaled and exhaled in longer measures. Slowly, a kind of warmth slid over Jack’s hand.

The spirit of fun squirmed uncomfortably but the warm sensation soon faded. He saw a dull glow over their connected hands like someone had switched on a tiny little lightbulb beneath them. Jack only had a moment to marvel at it before Bunny retracted his paw.

Jack held up his hand and smiled at his completely clear skin. Whatever had latched onto him had been eradicated with just a bit of magic. Jack turned back to Bunny to see the Guardian smirking at him, peaceful expression slightly mischievous under all the layers.

“Didn’t know ol’ Bunny had a bit of magic in him, did ja?”

Jack returned his smile and flexed his fingers until he clasped his crook with his newly healed hand. Bunny’s expression morphed slowly into something more serious.

“You’re lucky that wasn’t a fresh mark. When did you come by it?”

Jack shrugged. “Just a couple of hours ago. I found a patch of the stuff in North America after Wind showed it to me.” He chose to leave out the details of actually dropping his prized staff.

Bunny rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “You’ve never seen this stuff?”

Jack shook his head. During their conversation the children remained unaware of their little drama with the healing. They were thankfully occupied with painting but Jack saw a couple of them go off and start to play tag. While he longed to join them his curiosity about the green stuff was greater.

Jack frowned. “Once I think, a long time ago. It was near an old barn. It was dull stuff too but I didn’t go investigate it. I thought Leprechaun must have left it.”

Bunny shook his head grimly. “No Leprechaun leaves this stuff… Jack, I need you to make me a promise.”

Bunny’s serious tone caught his attention. Bunny meant every word and was sincere in wanting the frost spirit to give him his promise. Jack tried to laugh off the intensity.

“If you’re going to make me promise never to make it snow a week before Easter you’re out of luck, Cottontail. On Easter Day might be a little bit more negotiable, but-”

Bunny waved a hand like he was banishing the joking words. “No, Jack. I need you to be serious now. Let this lie. Don’t go back there, especially not alone. It’s dangerous.”

Jack paused and silence reigned. In the background they could hear the children laughing and stumbling while they chased each other. The fits of giggles could do nothing to penetrate the suddenly tense atmosphere. The world had narrowed to just Bunny and Jack.

“How so?”

Bunny seemed to bluster, looking uncomfortable now. “Just- it’s dangerous, the thing that leaves this. It’s seductive-”

When Jack’s eyebrows rose Bunny hastened to clarify. “Not in the way you’re thinking. It pulls you in, damages the spirit. They aren’t common but anything that leaves this is something you need to give a wide berth.”

Jack scratched his head as he thought.

“How come you guys never mentioned it before? And why haven’t I seen these things?”

Bunny shook himself irritably as if shaking off a bad memory. “Just keep your nose out of it as best you can. These things aren’t to be trifled with and they’re not something you can transform with fun or dream sand. They take lives, spirit lives.”

Jack tilted his head. Bunny seemed so dark and grim about this he wondered if he actually had something to fear. A weight settled down on his shoulders and he realized bunny had laid his paws there.

“Promise me.” He seemed to hesitate and then added, “Please.”

Jack’s eyes widened. Bunny had never asked him for anything, much less something like this. Bunnymund’s ears had flattened back like he was making a battle stance. He was simply staring into Jack’s eyes though and waiting for his response.

While it seemed churlish to refuse Jack could not deny that he was even more curious about this. Nothing scared Bunny and now here he was, practically begging Jack to stay away from this danger. His comment about ‘seduction’ had only served to perplex Jack. Was it something Pitch had made? Would it try to turn him into a wraith, an evil spirit?

Bunny’s grip tightened and Jack hurried to speak. He stumbled through the words. “If-if it’s so important to you then I will.”

Bunny studied him as if gauging his sincerity. Finally his arms dropped back to his sides and he exhaled heavily. All of the rigidness of his posture seemed to drain away and he clapped a paw on Jack’s back.

“That’s me boy. Now let's say we round up the little ankle biters and have us an egg hunt?”

With the flow of their conversation switching back to normal Jack raised a brow. “Before Easter? Who are you and what have you done with E. Aster Bunnymund? I thought Easter was the only special day.”

Bunny smiled. “You have to be a little flexible when fostering belief. So they tell me.”

Jack snorted. Mirth and a bit of pride lingered in his gaze. He knew who had told Bunny that.

After the conversation they rejoined the children. They soon got to hiding about a dozen chocolate eggs. With Jack’s flying powers and Bunny’s experience the eggs ended up being a difficult find. The children were kept occupied all the way up until their departure. When the time came Bunny escorted them home one by one.

Soon Jack was the only one lingering around the Warren. Jack floated high above the main tunnel, eyeing Bunny who had just returned from his last child delivery. Jack bobbed around in a small circle, a habit he had developed when he was itching to go distribute several snowfalls.

Bunny dusted himself off. The tunnel soil was flicked off onto the fresh green grass.

“Leaving so soon?”

Jack smiled apologetically.

“Gotta give the kids an excuse to sing Christmas carols. The globe needs just a little more snow up north.”

Bunny smirked.

“Can’t hold up winter eh, mate? Have fun nipping noses, just keep the flowers out of it.”

Jack winked in response. He soared in a spiral until he gathered up enough momentum to shoot through the tunnel. He might have been showing off a little, but then Bunny was not above flashing around Easter’s powers.

As Jack flew out of sight he let his hand creep towards his chest. Somewhere deep in his core uneasiness stirred. He quickly shrugged it off as just Bunny’s weird mood rubbing off on him. After all, with Pitch banished what was there left to fear?

 


	3. Try the Green Stuff

Jack did not actively search for more clues into the goo, but nor did he forget it and write it off as just another peculiar event. He kept to his routes, giving snow and ice to the poles and bringing children the many joys of snowball fights. He earned a few believers along the way, but he always made time to return home. Jamie was going through a growth spurt and Sophie was learning to speak in sentences. Jack dropped by whenever he was on his way to create snow days across the country and the continents.

When he was not playing or working he was wandering. He flew by places he had not been to in a while and mapped out the changes in his head. He might have flown over Pitch’s territory a few times before he told himself to stop it. He had made a promise to Bunnymund and he knew that his word as a Guardian was serious. He had responsibilities that had been previously unknown resting on his shoulders. Children depended on him in a way he had never thought possible, counting him as a friend. If he had to stay away and neglect his curiosity he would, or at least try his best.

It was Boxing Day when he flew out to ice the Netherlands. Once again he thought of how Europe’s landscape was strangely neat. The trees were where they should be and shrubs well groomed. He was used to the wild untamed brambles and hollows. Perhaps he should go back to his lake soon. Jamie was probably eager to show him what North had gotten him for Christmas. A smile flickered over Jack’s features as he thought of his first child believer. Though Jamie was growing up fast he still had a while to go yet. Jack would be sure to treasure their years together and make the most of Jamie’s childhood while bringing a lot of fun with the winters.

Jack’s mind had been so occupied that he barely saw the purple things before they were covered with a coating of ice.

“Oh no! Oh no.”

Jack floated down and landed on an outcropping outside a narrow copse of trees.

“Bunny’s gonna kill me.”

He approached the scene of the catastrophe. He poked at the plant matter with his staff. The feeble nudging did nothing to perk the crocus back up. It only served to demonstrate how ragged and limp the flowers had become after the icy treatment.

“But he doesn’t have to find out, right? Who knows, they might be okay.”

The limp dark flowers silently contradicted his words.

“What are you doing so soon out of the ground anyway? I know you’re early bloomers but this is getting ridiculous.”

This had become his life, talking to dead flowers. He had to shake his head at the silliness of it.

Then he stiffened. A stab of cold had pierced him. He clutched at the place over his heart as his fist tightened over his crook. Only one spirit could give him a chill. He glanced around to try and spot the intruder. Darkness crept across the ground, pooling into the places left untouched by new frost. All around the deep aura crept and waited for its master to appear. In the typical fashion of his appearances, he could be heard first.

“What could you be doing so far away from home? There there. Let’s bring you back to where you belong.”

The smooth silky voice cooed. Jack gritted his teeth and raised his staff as he got into a fighting stance.

The next moment was almost comical in its unexpectedness. As Pitch came into view cooing at a creature cupped in his hands he took only a couple of steps before he glanced up. The Boogeyman did a double take, face showing his surprise. The vulnerable expression did not last long. An ugly snarl curled at the corner of his mouth and the shadows around him deepened. A loud ribbit echoed through the clearing.

Pitch looked down at his hands where he was supposedly cupping a spirit creature. His grip had tightened and nearly squashed his cargo. The frog bounded away, escaping the tight hold.

Jack stared. Like in the way Nightmares did not truly look like horses this frog did not actually appear as a frog. It was luminous but twisted and mangled in appearance, its tiny face narrow and ill-natured. Something was terribly wrong with it.

Jack did not have to see the strange goo trail it left to know that this had been the mysterious creature that had left behind the slime from before. This was the thing that Bunny was so afraid of. While being deeply unsettling, Jack still could not fathom why Bunny seemed genuinely terrified of it.

“What are _you_ doing here?” The Boogeyman snarled.

Jack was not surprised by Pitch’s hostility. Ever since their last confrontation the word was that Pitch was always on the run. His Nightmares pursued him constantly and the other spirits were no longer genial after hearing Pitch had threatened the Guardians. His quest for supreme power had made him many enemies, not just among the good spirits but the bad conniving ones as well.

“What does it look like?” Jack replied coolly.

Pitch’s gaze went to the fresh coating of frost all over the ground. He noticed the dead flowers. A myriad of different expressions flickered across his features.  

“It looks like spring will have to wait its turn.”

Pitch’s mood had swung wildly back to a neutral one. He was obviously thinking. Jack’s suspicions were roused as he recognized someone buying time. For what it remained to be seen.

“What are you doing here?” Jack posed the question back at him.

Pitch blinked and then shrugged halfheartedly. “A bit of honest work, of course. Same as you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a frog to catch.” He stated it in a matter-of-fact tone.

The Boogeyman turned and darted as swift as a shadow to capture the slimy frog again. This time he held it gently and stroked its back. The pale green slime clung to his fingers. Jack’s face darkened and he pointed his staff at the oozing frog.

“So you’re the one responsible for those things.”

Pitch laughed. “This? Oh no. He’s a completely different class of spirit, you see...”

Jack watched with a sort of morbid fascination as Pitch lifted one of his slimy hands to his face. His tongue flicked out and scooped up the slime with it. He swallowed the substance.

Jack wrinkled his nose. Pitch grimaced and coughed a little.

“Bitter but palatable I suppose.” He cleared his throat and glanced back up at Jack. “Would you like to try it?”

Pitch’s unnerving display did not unsettle him as much as it would have in the past. Jack knew how Pitch liked to play up his drama.

Jack’s face was deadpan. “I think I’ll pass.”

Pitch wore one of his eerie smiles as he tilted his head and regarded Jack. “I’m not the maker of these creatures. They manifest by themselves. Surely the Guardians told you?”

When Jack continued to stare blankly Pitch started to chuckle. He clutched at his middle in the semblance of mirth even as he mocked it.

“Oh, of course not, how silly of me. They would never tell the new Guardian all of their dirty little secrets.”

Jack scowled. He could not stop himself from listening to Pitch’s words, even as he knew Pitch twisted the truth to suit his needs. The self-serving spirit of fear did not lie outright and so Jack listened, albeit reluctantly.

“The things I could tell you...how the Guardians have neglected their duty.” Pitch paused to let the statement sink in. It was met with skepticism.

“Oh?” Jack’s stance had grown casual as he leaned partially on his staff. His arms remained crossed.

Boogeyman petted the frog and it croaked under the attention.

“This spirit came from a child.”

At first Jack didn’t react. He eyed Pitch and the creature in his hands. Then his eyes widened and he nearly dropped his staff in the wake of the truth. His spirit senses were shouting it at him.

“No!” Jack denied. An innocent little child had produced this thing, this unnatural creature that marred fun and invited fear?

“It’s true and I can prove it.” Pitch paused to titter at him in mocking sympathy. “Oh my poor dear Jack, did you really think there weren’t any skeletons in the Guardians’ closet? They’re full to the brim with unpleasant things. Just think, if they managed to fail a child so badly what have they done to the others? What happens to those who don’t get any pleasant dreams or gifts and memories?”

Jack bristled. “Then prove it then. Show me the child who made this!”

The Boogeyman tutted. “Patience. I can take you to see them, even give you a bit of a tour. The question is, can you still trust those imbeciles? Just look at how they failed you!”

Jack’s mouth became a firm line.

“Remember how you scraped by to get the smallest bit of notice, how you suffered through the long days and nights. They would have left you that way, Jack. They would have gone on with their lives and left you to wither away. Don’t you think they would do this to others?”

Jack shook his head. “I’m not a child.”

Pitch burst out laughing. “Oh, you’ll have to forgive me, Jack, but that statement sounds rather ludicrous coming from you. Are you not an innocent?”

Jack sensed that the question was rhetorical so he kept silent.

Pitch wiped away the traces of mirth from his eyes. “Very well, if you need proof I shall show you.”

Jack watched him and considered. He had given his promise as a Guardian not to pursue this and had been warned that it was dangerously seductive in a sense. But then, what was the worst Pitch could do? He could try to trap him or fool him but he knew how quickly Pitch's forces would be overrun from the other spirits if he snapped up a Guardian. It came with the territory that he was protected now, if not by the others than nature herself.

His mind kept going back to the thought that a child had been producing these. It was enough to embolden Jack to seize this chance. He was not going to let a child bear this alone, from whatever it was they endured. He had to help if he could.

Pitch waved him over. Jack clutched his staff tightly and stepped forward. Pitch smirked when he saw the distance Jack kept from him but made no comment about it.

“You’ll need to fly to keep up. I travel swiftly, you know.”

Jack nodded. He swallowed any qualms still remaining as he crouched and sprang into the sky. The Boogeyman did not glance back to see that he kept up. He darted forward in his true form. He was like a great billowing cloud swallowing everything its path.

Jack was starting to feel that twisting sensation within his gut again. He tamped down on it and forced himself to follow. A child needed him and that was what mattered. He had made an oath to protect them all and he meant to keep it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you think of this so far. I would really appreciate it. ♡


	4. The Choice

They did not travel long, maybe only a mile or two. It was a stone’s throw away to a spirit. Jack expected their journey to be far longer and he barely skidded to a halt in time to match Pitch. Jack found himself nose to wall with the building Pitch had stopped at. Jack backed away slowly to get a good look at the place. He was met with the sight of warm colored bricks and flights of stairs and fire escapes. Whatever he had been expecting, it was not this.

He frowned. “A hospital?”

The building was like the other hospitals. There were patient rooms, surgery rooms, staff rooms... Jack circled around the front of the building. The enchanted Wards that had been marked down by spirits to protect the building and all those within it glittered in front of them.

Only their eyes could see the lettering. Jack could not read spirit language but he knew Pitch could and he likely understood its purpose. Pitch was watching him expectantly. Jack raised an eyebrow.

Pitch gestured to the place. “Haven’t you ever been inside a hospital?”

Jack scoured his memory and shook his head. He remembered why he had never gone in. “Aren’t the Wards meant to keep spirits out?”

“You’ve never slipped in through an open window or in from the back? Not for all these years?” Pitch evaded Jack’s question.

Again, Jack indicated he had not.

“Right, let’s go return our little friend and I’ll give you a tour.” Pitch motioned him forwards. People were going in and out at intervals. Pitch crept up behind them and Jack ran to catch up to him.

“Where’s the child? Are they in the hospital?”

Pitch did not spare him a glance. “You’ll see.”

Opportunity came when someone held the door open for an elderly gentleman entering the building. The space was just large enough for them to get through without encountering brick and mortar. Pitch slipped inside and Jack quickly followed. Several people by the door shivered. They could have sworn an unpleasant cold breeze had drifted by.

Jack did not know what he had expected when he chose to follow Pitch. If he was forced to guess he would have marked this down as an elaborate trap where he was meant to be caught by some sort of magical spirit security system. Or he was going to smuggle Pitch into the building using his Guardian aura. He entered unhindered though and Pitch led him like a man who knew his way.

The croaking noises began, first loudly and then gaining in volume as they moved. Somewhere in this hospital were a bunch of frogs. The spirit frog in Pitch’s hands began croaking loudly as if to answer its peers.

“Almost there, little one.”

Jack was unsure of who the comment was aimed at but kept following the Boogeyman. They traveled up flights of stairs, gliding silently beside the nurses and doctors. They were fast approaching the top of the building. A helicopter pad was at the very top to transport the severely wounded and ill, but surely Pitch was not bringing him to the helicopter when Pitch could fly.

When they reached where they were headed, Jack could feel it. This hallway was colder, darker. The croaking sounds had become thunderous. As they stepped over the threshold from the stairs Pitch knelt down. He released his frog and it hopped away to join the others. Pitch straightened up gracefully and shot Jack a calculating look. Jack was examining their surroundings with wide eyes.

Jack could not help but ask, “what is this place?”

Pitch smirked and started picking idly at his nails. His stance was of someone victorious. Jack swallowed as Pitch’s shadows loomed up, stronger in the strange atmosphere.

“Go take a look around. See how the Guardians have failed.”

Jack scowled at him for good measure, demonstrating his fearlessness even if he did not actually feel it. He began moving off by himself. His tread became heavy as he walked down the long hallway. He went to go peek into the rooms.

What he found stole his breath away and left him colder than he thought possible.

Pitch came up behind him and smiled. He let Jack take it all in and draw his own conclusions. Pitch stared at the back of his silky white head and watched the young spirit struggle to get his breathing under control.

Jack did not dare enter these rooms. They were full of these unnatural twisted frogs on the beside tables, perched on the lights, and even obscuring the sunshine coming in through the windows. In these rooms lay single patients, hooked up to monitors and various devices. What was the most disturbing were the expressions on their faces.

“Can you guess what our little frog friends are? I’ve given you enough clues.”

Jack watched the scene blankly as his shock faded away.

His blankness was echoed back at him and for once it was not because these people could not see him. Jack had known this emotion long ago, back when he had first became a spirit. While he never let it take hold of him for long it was different seeing people, especially children bordering on young adulthood, firmly entrenched in it.

Pitch leaned forward and whispered in Jack’s ear. His breath ruffled his hair as he hissed. “It starts with an ‘r’”

A shiver ran down Jack’s spine. He identified it aloud in a futile attempt to chase the shadows away. “It’s resignation.”

Pitch hummed his approval.

They were interrupted as the ribbiting around them rose to a crescendo. The frogs in the room stirred restlessly and Jack took a step back. Pitch just barely stifled a snicker at his unease. Jack turned to see a crowd of frog spirits hop down the hallway. Jack squeezed himself up against the doorframe out of the way as they passed.

Pitch watched the frogs move with less pleasure than he had before. “Ah, visitors have come. Not to worry though, our slimy friends will soon be back.”

Jack was twitching in the strange atmosphere. Its darkness was everywhere and its shadows did not mix well with his frosty aura. The ice on his hoodie had dulled and darkened, melting slightly at the edges.

“Have you seen enough?”

While needing to help these kids and teenagers, and also the adults, the overwhelming assault on his senses was muddling them. He nodded. He also felt a brief ridiculous urge to grab onto Pitch to steady himself. He squashed that feeling down and instead concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Pitch approached the exit and Jack followed. He dodged out of the way of the fresh puddles of slime in their path.

They did not halt at the doorway but instead passed back through. Jack was grateful as he did not think he could bear to be in that ward much longer. Pitch led him a little ways back down the stairs until they came to a wider stairwell. Here he paused and waited for Jack to catch up. He did not go further.

Jack halted and focused on getting his reactions back under control. When next he looked up at Pitch he found the Boogeyman regarding him with what appeared to be sympathy.

“It’s a bit overwhelming going up there for the first time. I remember.”

Jack started picking at the frost on his crook, only just realizing that he had been shivering.

“Now do you see why I’ve brought you here? The Guardians may do their best to ignore them but I knew _you_ would care. You’ve suffered through some of that yourself, haven’t you?”

Pitch spoke softly. Jack was reminded of how Pitch had made himself vulnerable when Jack had nearly thrown away his baby teeth. They had created the icy dark spire of spikes together. Pitch had played on their similarities to sweet talk him into a deal. When Jack had refused his offer to join forces, however…

“I know what you’re doing.” Jack straightened up to look Pitch fully in the eye.

The Spirit of Fear blinked and smirked. “Well of course you do. I’ve made no secret of it.”

Perhaps catching on to that Jack was going back to the scenario when Pitch had broken his crook, Pitch drew back. He took a couple of steps away and gave Jack a lingering look.

“Very well, if my current strategy is having no effect then I shall not persist. Rest assured though, if you do not do something about this then I shall continue to visit these people.”

The threat made Jack stiffen and glare.

“Since the Guardians are too weak to take care of this, my presence will have to do. There simply is no one else.”

Jack managed to gather up his courage and speak. “I’m going to tell them how they’re needed here. Just you wait, we’ll chase these frogs out of here.”

Instead of laughing as Jack expected him to do, Pitch just shook his head solemnly.

“They won’t come. Spirits have always been weak to emotions, especially ones as _good_ as them.” He hissed. “They warned you, didn’t they, not to go after the frogs? You seemed wary of them earlier.”

Jack was unsurprised by this observation. Pitch always seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head.

“They won’t make the sacrifice to help these people. Oath or no, they won’t drag themselves down to our level to help the helpless. You would know that...better than anyone.”

Pitch was giving him a look that was just a little too understanding. He knew what Jack had gone through more than the Guardians ever had. He had seen Jack’s true self and had not found it too lost to the light yet. He was not pure, not so dedicated to being flawless or without reproach.

That more than anything served to unsettle the Guardian of Fun.

Letting his words resonate, Pitch slipped away. His departure left relief in its wake. The heavy pressure on Jack’s heart lessened and it finally felt like at last he could take a full breath. He might have stayed in the stairwell a while, just getting his breathing back under control. He glanced at the spot where the Boogeyman had vanished and then to where they had just come from. He could still hear the frogs croaking in droves up on the top floor.

He hung his head and leaned on his crook. What was he going to do now? As far as he could see, he had two choices in front of him. The option of ignoring what he had found did not even occur to him as something to consider. These people needed someone. Almost anyone was better than Pitch to give them the required consolation.

That promise he had made to Bunnymund... he had never thought it would come back to bite him like it did now.

Then there was the truth, the truth that the Guardians did in fact already know about this. They considered it to be too dangerous to handle. Surely their oath was there for a purpose though? They had promised to face all dangers, even dangers to that of their spirit core, to nurture the children of the world. Man in Moon had selected them for a purpose…

Jack sat down atop the stairs. He knew what he had to do.

This would all be a lot easier if he were human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear, whenever I go outside in the evenings to walk my dog and mentally plot out this fic a freakish snowfall happens. Jack, maybe calm down a little. XD


	5. A New Delight

North sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. All around them the Yetis were cleaning up their workshops, preparing for next year's Christmas and the different toys that would have to be made there. It was a time of airing out the kitchens and old rooms, packing tools away to be recycled or donated.

Instead of staying in his private workshop, North sat in one of his armchairs on the main floor beside the fireplace. He watched and listened to the hubbub, content that he did not have to participate until later in the day. After a full night of traveling the globe and bringing joy to all he could kick his feet up. Soon stories would reach them. Word would spread of a magnificent Christmas for all the children and of the wonderful toys they had received. It made North smile with contentment while just thinking about it. He let his eyes drift shut.

“Somebody looks pleased with himself.”

North kept his eyes closed. He would recognize that accent anywhere, even if the speaker was not obviously drying off his fur. Bunny used a towel one of the Yetis had provided for him.

“I have every right to be pleased,” North said simply. He kept smiling.

He opened his eyes a slit to watch Bunny drag his ears down one at a time and delicately rub them dry. He was careful with the long slender ears and made certain to dry the backs of them. It was such a bunny-like way of grooming that North had to chuckle.

“Snowing a little too vigorously outside this time, my friend?”

Bunny grumbled and finally set down the towel. He walked over to North and took the adjacent chair by the fireplace. “More like slush. You need Frostbite to give it a good freeze or it’s going to puddle up out there.”

North hummed agreement. He was in too lazy of a daze to give it much thought.

“Actually, he’s why I came.”

North finally opened his eyes fully and rested his hands on his belly. He looked over at Bunny, reading his expression.

“You do realize we haven’t had a proper welcoming ceremony ever since he joined the fold.”

North frowned. “We had ceremony. Read from the book and everything.” But then he stopped and thought. Technically they had not had the full celebration that came with the initiation. Jack Frost had not looked kindly on the ceremony the first time, and likely he would not take to the rest of the traditions they had.

Bunny gazed into the fire as he answered. “Yeah, but it doesn’t seem right not doing the full thing. We had a big ol’ party each time when we could. He’d like that...well- not the Ball. That’s a bit outdated.”

North sighed again and stretched a little. “Yes, but that was war time. It was important to keep morale up.”

Bunny’s ears flicked at the reminder. He seemed undeterred by that detail though. Bunny’s gaze was drawn away from the fire to look him in the eye. “We fought Pitch, didn’t we? Seems a good a time as any to celebrate the new sprig and our victory. We couldn’t have made it this far without him.”

North’s drowsiness was fading fast as he came to the same realization. They should all be thankful to Jack for helping them find themselves again. No Guardian had ever done so much, even before initiation. They owed him already. He looked at Bunny to find the Spirit of Easter appearing a bit sheepish.

“I know it’s not a great time to bring this up right after Christmas. I just thought Jack could use the time with us and the other spirits. He’s been out poking his nose into a lot of things he probably shouldn’t. He should spend the time getting to know us properly, yeah?”

North thought. That was a good idea. Manny knows he was curious about their newest member. He must be curious about them in turn or he would not have shadowed them all these years. His fingers came up to stroke thoughtfully at his beard. Bunny was looking more chipper now that North appeared to be considering his words. He straightened up in his seat.

“I could make a run to Sandy and Tooth and ask them what time’s best for them. I’m fine with anything as long as its more than a week before Easter.”

North was nodding. “Yes..yes! That is a fabulous idea. We could have a little get together, invite some seasonal spirits...crack open a bottle.”

North started humming to himself, fingers wiggling in delight. “Good! You have good ideas, Bunny. We shall have it, in a week’s time if it suits them? I will set up one of the big drawing rooms. This is an excellent idea!”

Bunny had to smile at North’s delight. Just minutes ago Santa had been on the verge of snoozing in his chair and now he was plotting breathlessly, eyes alight.

The Guardian of Wonder indeed.

 

* * *

 

 

In a hospital somewhere, a child stirred. The dawn light filtered in through the window, hitting the bed and monitors surrounding her. When she first awoke she rubbed her eyes and glanced over at the couple of Christmas cards she had received from her family. She reached for the book on the bedside table. The IV line in her wrist twinged but she latched on to the book and curled around it. She was too tired to read it. She was simply content to hold it and think about the story within its pages. It had been her Christmas present from her brother. Her family was going to visit her today like they did many days. Still, she missed them terribly when they were not there.

Was that...snow?

Outside it was snowing. As she watched she swore she could see the flakes dance and swirl into pattern-like shapes. She watched them for a moment.

When next she looked she could have sworn she saw the snow enter the room. It fell softly and soundlessly, melting before it could make contact with anything. It was beautiful. The flakes glowed with the golden-orange dawn light. Her eyes felt a little wet, but not from pain this time. She reached out to touch the snowflakes and feel them melt under her fingertips. This must be a dream.

But it was a wonderful dream.


	6. That Slippery Slope

“Don’t you guys ever take a lunch break. Or you know, just a break?”

Jack was walking through the halls, though honestly it was more like hopping through them. Puddles of sticky residue could be found on almost every floor of the hospital. It was like playing ‘the floor is lava’ with literal stakes. He was doing well, spreading joy and evading resignation at every turn.

Mostly.

Two toes on his left foot had gone green on the bottom. It had not even been his fault. A frog had jumped under him at the last second while he was taking a step. He had learned from the incident though and was therefore unlikely to repeat it.

The work itself was challenging, but Jack found himself up to the task. It was about making something from very little and utilizing his resources. He could bring joy with the simplest things and inspire a sense of fun. He used his frost drawings, patterns in the snow outside, as well as the ability to soothe a fever or two with his powers. Just because the patients could not move in some cases did not inhibit his abilities to make them smile.

It was rewarding too, bringing delight to those who were suffering and in pain. If only for a moment they could feel like a normal kid again and Jack could see it on their faces how much it meant to them.

In all honesty Jack was planning to tell the Guardians after all. He would fess up to Bunny that he had not kept his promise and had gone to investigate. If Bunny could only see what he was doing he would understand. Only the hardest of hearts could let this misery go on unhindered. Who knows, he might even decide to help out. Surely all that grim stuff he had spouted must not have been from actual experiences. Jack was fine and he was making the patients so radiant. It was enough to strengthen his powers even as he worked throughout the long days.

A tiny part of his brain was still niggling at him that he was growing cocky and that Bunny was an experienced Guardian who knew what he was talking about. Jack had literally encountered no dangers though and even the frogs were starting to vanish, one by one, from the hospitals. They were usually stubborn little things more often than not. Their slime trails remained fresh even after they disappeared.

Jack tried freezing the frogs once. The end result was not pretty. They oozed and oozed a massive amount of goo until the ice melted. Jack had found himself strangely disheartened after the incident. His magic could not trap these things outright and any attempts on his part seemed to just spread the contamination.

By now Jack had reached his destination down the hallway. Here was the ward where they did chemotherapy and various infusions. Some of them were infusions of strong medicines that the patients could not do at home and so they remained here for a few hours receiving treatment.

Jack walked along the row of rooms. There were comfy looking chairs in each room and only a few patients receiving treatment. Jack looked for young faces, knowing that he could bring a smile to them the swiftest. He saw a young boy. His eyes were ringed with sleepless shadows and he was barely relaxed in his seat. The thicket of frogs was denser here, so Jack knew he had to be cautious. He tip toed carefully over the slimy bodies, ready to dodge them should they make any sudden moves.

At last he reached the child and knelt down. First off he would visually assess the kid to find creative inspiration. Jack was thinking he would be entertained by an ice particle animal and Jack would animate the creature to bound around the room a little. Maybe it would even make those frogs back away for a while. The boy appeared to be caught between exhaustion and boredom. The television was blaring in the background but he seemed to be ignoring it for the most part.

The next moment happened so quickly that there was no time for Jack to brace himself. Something hit him square in the back. Jack was knocked forward and his head went through the child’s knees and smacked the footrest.

The boy glanced down, eyebrow quirking up. The abrupt cold temperature was flexing the metal beneath the cushions. Weird. The boy found himself distracted by something on the television. His favorite show had come on. He was smiling slightly now.

Jack pulled back, holding his sore nose. He stood, woozily making his way through the crowd of retreating frogs. His brow furrowed as he concentrated on navigating a clear path through. A strange sense of unease and panic was building up inside of him. The foreign emotions were strong and he found himself becoming irrational.

When next he came to untainted ground, he ran. He did not have a destination in mind, but he let his instincts take over and bring him somewhere safe. He dashed to the lobby and sprinted to the exit. He had to wait until someone opened the door wide enough so that he could slip through. In the brief moment when he paused he hesitated about leaving the hospital early. He rationalized that the kids would still need him tomorrow and he would go help them then. Right now he needed a break to regroup and have some time with Wind and the fresh air.

As soon as he was outside he hitched a ride from Wind.

His heart was beating a wild staccato rhythm in his chest. A dark foreboding stole over him and he realized he might have taken a hit. His back felt wet and heavy. It was like he was lifting a weight attached there but he knew he was not carrying anything along. Any frog would have slid off, any frog-

Jack halted his flight. He rotated to regain his balance and purposefully started to sink. He was over the middle of a shopping district. The boulevard was made up of store fronts and bundled up shoppers hurried to and fro in the cold. Jack drifted down to land in the middle of the street. He glanced around until he found what he was looking for. He approached an enormous pane of glass, part of a storefront display. He noted his white complexion and slightly reddened nose but ignored it in his rush to see what was on his back. He turned around.

He felt his heart sink as his suspicions were confirmed. His back was covered with the slime. He was coated in such a thick layer that it had already saturated his hoodie. He felt it congealing over the skin.

“Argh!”

Jack clawed at the blue fabric. He pulled at the elastic waistband and shucked it up. He was more frustrated than scared at this point.

He channeled his frost through to his shoulder blades, freezing the slime off. The substance broke and disintegrated like it had last time. It drifted onto the ground like fine sand, leaving his back bare but changed in appearance. He looked at his reflection again. His skin had that green cast all over the shoulder blades and back.

Jack pulled the fabric back down so that it covered his torso. The murky color was unavoidably obvious on his hoodie, and Jack knew people would notice if he changed his clothes. The Guardians would definitely find out now. Bunny would be furious, North, Tooth, and Sandy would be worried. He could already feel the solid weight on his back, resting there and staying put. This had all been going so well until one single frog had gotten him. If the Guardians knew about this, then they would stop him from going. He was fairly certain about that. The well of despair and helplessness effecting him did not originate naturally as it should have. Jack could not stop himself from feeling it though and letting it settle in.

He immediately thought of the kids. Jack could not just leave them by themselves, alone and scared. It was part of his sacred duty given to him by Man in Moon to help every single child know fun even when things were hardest. He had already brought so many people a fun day when they never thought they would be able to have one again. This was the real reason why Man in Moon had chosen him as a permanent Guardian. Pitch was not the true fight.

Jack may have been subconsciously aware that his sudden conviction was a bit overstated. He felt such great fulfillment doing this work though. It was like rescuing children everywhere all over again. There was the adrenaline and the sorrow mixed with the intense joy when things went right. That moment when they smiled was the real reason he needed to do this.

Because when they smiled, if only for a moment, it almost felt like his little sister was there with him.

And his family would have been proud to see him looking after those who needed the fun moments to keep fighting.

 

* * *

 

  
“No, left. Back. Left more. Ah! Done!”

The Yeti wiped his brow and set down the ice sculpture. The ice had been carved by North himself and he had put his skills to the test in creating the piece. It was to be a conversation centerpiece to their gathering. A good host always had one, whether it was fine china or a nice lamp or good food. North liked to think outside the box a little and so his creation was particularly unique.

Now with Christmas over and Easter still months away North could at last celebrate the gathering of the Guardians.

He was inviting everyone, Elves, Yetis, Fairies, Guardians, even other spirits they knew. Jack was unable to resist all of the excitement of such a get together, surely? Bunny had said so and he usually had good instincts about such things.

North was pulling out all the stops and enjoying doing so. He had already sent out invitations to their guests and they had rsvp-ed in their own unique way. Some of them left him letters by pixie dust or a snarky note beside flowers or fall leaves.

Everybody was showing and that made North excited beyond reason. There was still no word from the guest of honor though. Bunny had assured North that Jack was doing a load of traveling lately and would be back in a couple of days. Jack never stayed away from Burgess or Jamie for long.

North smiled. He wondered if Jack had seen Jamie’s Christmas haul yet. It would probably amuse him, seeing what North had chosen for him and his Burgess believers. Well, wherever Jack was North hoped he would fly back soon. It would not be a merry celebration without the Guardian of Fun.


	7. Too Many Secrets

Jamie rested his chin on his crossed arms as he stared out at the night sky. The deep azure color was intersected with gold in the distance, a sign that Sandman had created good dreams not far from his house. Jamie supposed he should be asleep too, but try as he might he could not let his eyes stay closed for long. He was so eager to see Jack again. It seemed like ages since he had seen his favorite frost spirit. It was starting to feel a little like Jack had forgotten him.

He knew that their friendship was special, but surely Jack had a lot of cool spirit friends he could be hanging out with? The thought made Jamie twitch. He still watched the sky with hope in his heart. Jack always promised to come back and he usually kept his promises.

Jamie stayed by the window for a half hour more, fiddling with some toy figurines before he decided that Jack was not coming tonight. Maybe he would be by tomorrow. Jamie sighed and turned around to head back to bed.

“You didn’t think I would be gone forever, did you?”

Jamie gasped, delight on his features when he spun to face Jack. The Spirit of Fun was perched on his windowsill with a half-smirk on his face. Jamie launched himself at his friend and wrapped his arms around him.

“Whoa, easy there!” Jack was laughing as he fought to get his balance back. His laughter had a peculiar forced quality to it. Luckily Jamie did not seem to notice.

“I knew you’d be back!”

Jamie’s voice was muffled against the front of his hoodie. Jack rested a hand on the top of his head. “Well of course I’d be back. I can’t let my first believer forget me, now can I?”

Jamie giggled. He caught Jack’s wrist and led him into the room. In the typical manner of children he was zooming ahead through the greeting in anticipation of sharing his excitement. “Come on, I gotta show you all the cool stuff Santa got me for Christmas!”

Jack smiled warmly and let himself be led to the toys and books North had given to Jack’s young believer. There was a new telescope among the gifts. Now that Jack was looking at the device he noticed that there was a pattern all over it. He squinted and focused until he saw what is was. It was of a bunch of snowflakes.

“Now I can see the moon up close! Santa gave Sophie a snowflake shirt too.”

Jack had to shake his head fondly. North and his gestures of goodwill. Throughout the excited chatter he could not help but notice Jamie’s room was a little messier than usual. It was not the usual kind of kid mess. Two large heaps of fabric sat by the edge of the bed, folded neatly as if by Jamie’s mom.

Jack pointed at the stacks. “What’s this?”

Jamie’s eyes followed his gesture and he shrugged. “Oh, that’s just stuff my mom’s donating or making into rags and stuff.”

Jack eyed it curiously. He knew a new hoodie or shirt would do nothing to hide the green on his back for long, but it would be a good fallback. It would be better than leaving the blemish there for all to see. The patch had spread and darkened. It was deep muddy blue-green in the center like a bruise that was trying to heal unsuccessfully.

Jamie changed topics to regain his attention. “So what’s new with you? Have you been making it snow everywhere? Can you make it snow here again?”

Jack smirked. “Well, I can give you a snow day before I-” Jack clutched at his forehead. “Oh drat, there’s that party.”

In his rush to see Jamie he had forgotten that he was invited to a celebration in his honor, hosted by North himself. Was it really tonight? The time seemed to have passed so strangely. It seemed neither fast nor slow by his estimation. Still, the date had crept up on him.

Jamie brightened. “A party?” There was excitement in his eyes.

Jack looked down at him sadly. “Sorry I can’t take you, Jamie. It’s strictly a spirit thing. I can tell you about it when I get back though.”

Jamie did not appear to be too upset by the refusal. Jack took a moment to marvel at how good of a child he was. Jamie was far above pitching fits.

“Ooo. What spirits are going to be there?”

Jack told him the short list of beings he knew that were invited. Of course North might have expanded that list without Jack’s knowledge and there were always a couple of spirits that gate-crashed. Jack was not too fussed about it though. He figured if more people wanted to come along and be bored with Guardian business that was up to them.

Again, Jack found his gaze wandering to the heap of cast offs. He _did_ need something to cover up the unsightly patch on his hoodie and mask what he had been up to. It was like fate had foreseen this and given him the opportunity.

“Hey Jamie, you don’t mind if I use some clothes of yours for the party? It’s just that I gotta wear something different from what I have on.”

Jamie smiled. “Sure!”

Jamie wanted to give him something new of his but Jack refused, saying he liked cast offs better. He also hinted at that if the opportunity arose he could brag about his believer providing clothing for him. Jamie was bashfully pleased by the pride in Jack’s voice.

Rather unfortunately though, a lot of the clothes were not the correct length for Jack’s gangly body. Everything would expose either his wrists or his ankles. While Jack was holding up the clothes to judge the size Jamie noticed the streaks of green behind his shoulders.

“Hey Jack, what’s that?” Jamie pointed.

Jack noticed where he was indicating and shrugged. He winced a little when the heavy weight was jostled across his shoulder blades.

“It’s some sort of spirit goo that something got on me. It’s pretty gross so I’d better find something to change into...or cover it up.”

Jack held a blanket aloft. It was a little ragged with holes near the hems but it was nearly the same shade as his hoodie, perhaps a little darker. It was the perfect size and length.

“Hey Jamie, can I take this?”

Jamie gazed at him with confusion in his eyes. He had thought Jack wanted something to wear.

When Jamie seemed none the wiser Jack wound it around his shoulders to demonstrate. He crossed it over his neck and froze the edges so that they were tucked in. His ice spread out over his collar until it matched the rest of his frost speckled ensemble. He stood tall with the fabric billowing over his shoulders.

When he was finished he raised an eyebrow as if to silently seek Jamie’s opinion. Jamie looked at him wonderingly for a moment. He pointed at Jack.

“No capes!” He had that peculiar look on his face when he was quoting someone from a movie or in real life.

Jack’s eyebrows rose. He did not understand the reference or what Jamie meant by it. He had thought it was a good idea.

“Sorry. Eh, it looks good on you.” Jamie gave him an angelic smile.

Jack snorted, marking down the incident as just another one of Jamie's peculiar quirks. He spun around a little, making sure that his back was covered. Satisfied, he gave Jamie a grateful look.

“I’m all set now. I guess I can’t avoid going.”

To his surprise Jamie sputtered a little, aghast. “Well of course you have to go, so you can tell me what it was like! I want to hear about the spirits!”

Jack blinked. He supposed he had no choice now. Manny knows he would do anything for Jamie.

“You really want to hear about it, huh?”

Jamie nodded enthusiastically.

Jack smiled his first true smile since he had been there. “All right, I’ll try to come back with plenty of stories to tell.”

“Yes!” Jamie hopped up and down.

Considering that Jack had first met him while he was obsessing over Big Foot he supposed it was only natural that Jamie would love to hear about a gathering of spirits.

Jack and Jamie suddenly froze. They could hear Jamie’s mother climbing the stairs. She called for her son, saying he needed to walk Abby.

Jamie shrugged at Jack and grimaced. “Whoops, I forgot to walk her after dinner. I should probably get going.”

Jack smirked at his young distracted believer. He gave Jamie a brief hair ruffle and they said their goodbyes. Jack gave more promises of bringing back entertaining tales for Jamie.

Jack did not linger. Without looking back, he sprang back out of the window and out of sight. Jamie watched his retreating shadow for a moment until he was prompted by another call from his mother. He left the room and went to go take care of the greyhound.

Jack walked silently across the yard, leaving no footprints as he strode over the snow. He was walking this time instead of flying. He turned around to give the Bennett house one last look. He figured he should give Jamie the snow day he had promised before he left. He turned towards the sky and gave his crook a tug like he was tugging on a fishing pole. The gesture and his will behind it usually got a flurry going. A few flakes fluttered down. Jack waited for more to fall.

“Not you too.”

He pulled at the precipitation in the clouds again, putting some weight and strength into it. The results were less than ideal.

“What, wintry mix? I wanted snow, not rain.”

Jack tried a couple of times before he was forced to give up. When he reached for the well of power inside him it was like scraping the bottom of a barrel. It rattled him more than he liked to admit.

He would just have to give Jamie his snow day when he got back. His powers were probably depleted from all of that work he had been doing up until now. Hopefully. Once he reached a little ways past the houses of his believers he stopped.

He turned to the skies. “Wind, take me to the North Pole.”

He could clear his head while up in the air and think about what to do. He would likely take a couple of breaks on his flight so as not to arrive early. He planned to do some snow work while on his trip and spend the time detailing his ice creations. The little details that he added sometimes laid the groundwork for creating new believers.

Jack launched into the sky and caught wind’s currents. This transition from ground to air was not as smooth as it usually was with the weight on his back. It took some heavy lifting on Wind’s part to catapult him into the air. Jack had to angle himself to glide along.

Normally he would be jittery with anticipation at this point. Instead, he found himself preparing for a lengthy trip that would feel longer with the chance of his secret being found out at the end. He was not looking forward to it.

He was not looking forward to it at all really.


	8. Push and Pull

Jack’s trip took far longer than expected. He did not stop often but he found that it took nearly double the time than it usually did to get to the Pole. He kept having to flip around to redistribute his weight when he was blown off course.

He caused a few flurries in Russia but did not create anything bigger. He was content with it though and the Russians probably were too. He traveled through the night, Wind whistling around him as she tried her best to keep catching him within her currents. When at last he reached his destination he could have sworn even Wind was relieved.

Jack arrived at the Pole and approached North’s house. Smoke rose out of the many chimneys in the large structure. Even from the sky Jack could see that the place was lit up like a bonfire, light emanating from the windows to dance with merry flickers on the snowbanks. As he drew closer he started to hear music faintly on the wind. The festivities had obviously begun.

Jack drifted down from the skyline, cape fluttering around him in the stiff breeze. His movements were somewhat slow but he managed to fly the rest of the way up to the Pole house’s perch. He landed on the roof, balancing there for a moment.

He followed the source of the music. By now the recording was blaring through the roofing, undoubtedly from North’s large gramophone. The music style was jolly and it had a hint of Polka to it.

As if it was meant for him, and it probably was, Jack spotted a cracked open window. He pushed it up and slid through the gap. It was a tight fit considering that these windows were rarely cracked open when they were meant to protect the inhabitants from the cold. He found himself standing near the back of a crowd of spirits. There was not a large amount but not a small grouping either and they were from all different seasons and locations. Strangely enough, they seemed to take notice of his arrival. He blinked and the crowd parted somewhat. Tooth fairies swarmed around him, chittering while guests moved aside to make a clearway between him and the Guardians.

“Jack!” North’s expression lit up like a Christmas tree. “Here he comes, the guest of honor!”

North had a glass of liqueur in one hand and a cookie in the other. Bunny stood beside him as if they had been talking. The pooka seemed relaxed in the way that he held himself, as if he was completely at ease in the warm atmosphere. He held a glass of eggnog in one paw.

“Almost thought you were gonna be a no show, mate.” Bunny quirked an eyebrow. He eyed him a moment longer and added, “Like the new look.”

The compliment was unusually genuine sounding. Despite himself Jack suddenly felt a little taller at the words.

Toothiana fluttered down from above and buzzed around him. Her fairies gathered around her and Jack.

“Oh Jack, that’s a marvelous cape. It looks good on you.” Her cheeks were a bit flushed and she eyed him from under her long feathered lashes. Her admiration was fleeting though as her attention was drawn elsewhere.

Her fairies cooed in agreement. They buzzed around him like a swarm of affectionate bees. Baby Tooth nuzzled him and chirped enthusiastically in his ear.

North approached to greet him and boomed, “You should have said you wanted fancy dress party! I would have worn uniform and Bunny could wear his green coat!”

“Green coat?” Jack mused aloud. He stared at Bunny.

“Don’t ask,” Bunny mumbled. He stared down at his eggnog as if it had suddenly become fascinating.

North came up to Jack and clapped a hand on his back. Jack twitched.

“What are we doing still standing here? Let me introduce you to everyone! Here are the Nats and the Kaluks, tree and forest spirits, also Obumo spirit of thunder…”

There seemed to be a lot of spirits invited that were not on the list. Jack thought he spotted some Egyptian spirits lingering towards the back. All of them were speaking all different languages and they had to resort to miming things to get the others to understand. Jack usually would have had a grand time getting to know the others and learning how to play tricks on them. However, he found himself reluctant to carry on as he usually did and so for now he let them be. He already knew a few of the Nats but not well since they usually kept to themselves.

“...and here we have the centerpiece I sculpted. Do you like it?”

In the center of the room stood a large pillar of ice. All around the sides were high relief carvings of all five of the Guardians and atop the center was a three dimensional snowflake.

“I captured one of your snowflakes and increased the scale. It looks nice, yah?”

Jack stared at it, mouth gaping open. He pulled his jaw back up so that he could answer.

“It’s amazing.”

He truly was impressed, for it looked like the average person would have spent months even years sculpting this. With North’s long experience and expertise he knew it would have taken him hardly a day. Jack was still blown over by the artistry.

While he stood there admiring it, a nymph started playing with his hair and his cape. Normally he would rebuffed her advances politely but she seemed just a little too interested in his new cape. He ended up pulling the old ‘hey look, what’s that?’ trick to escape from her.

He sidled over near to the cracked open window where the crowd was more evenly dispersed. There were not as many spirits that could handle the cold.

North had gotten caught up in a conversation with Tooth. Tooth chatted amiably with him for a moment until some of her fairies sought her out about a currency change that they needed to correct. Tooth helped them solve it swiftly and one of the fairies, carrying a large coin purse, nodded and made to head out. Tooth seemed quite distracted by the incident and had already switched over to tooth collecting mode. She brought herself back to the festivities with reluctance.

North caught Tooth’s attention again. “Tooth, how many times have we told you to leave your work behind!” North scolded her without any bite. “This is a celebration!”

Tooth flushed and protested. “Well I know they can manage on their own but it just doesn’t seem fair to let them handle it all in my absence.”

The fairy dragging around the coin pouch was about to leave the scene when she found the weight of her cargo swiftly gone from her clutches. She squeaked and glanced around to see what had become of it. She spotted the culprit a couple of feet away making silly triumphant gestures at her. Her eyes widened for a moment in regards to the unexpected development.

The elf left the scene in a hurry. She gave chase to recapture her loot from the aggravating creature. Her sisters soon spotted her predicament and flew to assist her. Together they chased the little thief, chiding him in their squeaking language.

Jack turned to see a flurry of color chase after the elf. The angry squeaking increased in volume and the fairies took turns at dive bombing the elf. The creature stuck his tongue out at them and continued running. He darted through the thicket of legs and the fairies plowed into the unsuspecting guests. The corporeal spirits were forced to withstand the barrage.

“Bloody- North!” Bunny yelped, plucking two dazed tooth fairies out of his fur.

Jack leaned on his crook and watched the chaos. Some of the guests were spitting out feathers as the tooth fairies checked to see if they had knocked out any teeth in their collision.

Toothiana fluttered around, checking on the girls. She took to trying to placate them and encouraging them to give up the chase. “Just let him have it, we’ll get it back later. Oof!”

A couple of her fairies dived into her.

As she tried to get her workers to settle down Jack started eyeing the open window again. He had stayed long enough to get something to tell Jamie about at least. He glanced back at the Guardians. Sandy was carefully aiming at the culprit of the mess with a prepared ball of dream sand, Bunny was calling to North to get his elves under control, and North was helping Tooth up off the floor.

He doubted that they would notice his departure in all this and he knew that it might hurt North a little if he actually saw him leave early. His window of opportunity was now and no later.

Quick as a flash Jack bounded out of the room. He left only a cold breeze in his wake as he sprang out into the night. The snow cushioned his fall and he dashed off with plans to continue his work in his mind. There was a lot he could be doing instead of remaining here. He rationalized that he would much rather be trying to cheer up a kid than trying to socialize at a party. He wanted to be doing what he did best, especially if there was something going wrong with his spirit core

He realized that he was long overdue to ask the Guardians for help, but they seemed so reluctant to let him figure this out much less tolerate his meddling with it. And if he was forced to admit it to himself he was more than a little wary of letting down his new group of friends. He did not want to face the music now, especially when he was already feeling like this, so strangely heavy and weary. He could handle the job alone and even if it turned out that he could not, he was glad that the work was getting done anyway. 

The sky was still completely dark with the only light coming from the Pole house. Jack vanished into the night sky with Wind as his only companion for the journey ahead.

 

* * *

 

 In the end Phil ended up capturing the wayward elf. He quickly snagged the miscreant and shook the bag of coins off of him. The fairies scooped their treasures up, feathers still ruffled from the ruckus. They squeaked thankfully to Phil and the Yeti answered them back with a bashful sounding growl.

While the Yetis and Guardians were busy checking on everyone it did not become apparent until much later that one of their number was missing. Bunny noticed the chilly breeze in their air and glanced over at the window. It had been cracked open wider with the red drapes fluttering in the frigid breeze.

“Oi North, where’s Jack gone?”

North, who had been talking to Ra, turned to look for their missing frost spirit. He frowned when he did not spot their mischief maker in chief. They reached the same conclusion that Jack had bailed sometime during the coin theft. With both North and Bunny being well acquainted with Jack’s pranks they found his disappearance during the affair highly unusual. If Jack had been responsible for the incident then he would have stuck around to see the results, surely?

Bunny and North exchanged a look. Bunny shrugged. It was no skin off his nose if Jack bailed on the party early, even if he thought the winter sprite would have enjoyed it. Maybe he was just not much for crowds. Bunny liked the cozy cluttered atmosphere of the occasion. It was not unlike sharing a burrow. Crowds were not for everyone though and maybe Jack was more of a one on one kind of spirit.

Regardless, he was gone now and there was no getting him back. Not in a hurry anyways.

 


	9. Send Help

Wind dropped him somewhere in Greenland. A sort of numbness had spread out over his back and the back of his neck. His spine was already effected and now it felt like he was trying to lift a solid block of metal across his shoulders.

Wind dropped him into a heap of snow where he lay and got his breath back. He clutched his crook to his chest. The frost was beginning to melt around his beloved staff, leaving the wood plain and unadorned.

Maybe Bunny had been right about those frogs. They could have been too dangerous…

His thoughts drifted away for a moment. It felt so nice to just lie in this snowbank and rest. Sometime during the bout of white noise and inactivity he started thinking about Jamie. Jamie had wanted his stories and a snowday. Jack could think of nothing better than a fun snowday filled with snowball fights and funny stories. It would have been a satisfyingly good end to the Christmas season. Jamie would be so happy.

Jack blinked the water out of his eyes. The snow had turned to slush around him, soaking his clothing. He got up and started walking, still feeling around for any stronger air currents. He had to get back to Burgess with some slight assistance from Wind.

He could still bring about a few smiles and fun times. He would see Jamie and then maybe go rest at the Pole. His believer was counting on him and Jack would never disappoint him.

 

* * *

 

The visit between believer and spirit had been brief. Jamie had only seen him for a few moments before he started exclaiming over Jack’s appearance and demeanor. The Guardian of Fun looked a little miffed at the reception. They had exchanged words and Jamie had gotten annoyed.

Jack had been no help though. The spirit had just seemed like he was stubbornly trying ignore how unusual he looked. Some of the green color had spread over his cheekbone and eye. The somewhat deadened appearance of his skin was unsettling enough to prompt Jamie to ask if he was okay. When Jack assured him of his wellness Jamie found that he could not believe him.

In fact, any excuses Jack made seemed to be rather hollow and illogical, as if he was not thinking straight. It was like arguing with a brick wall. When Jamie suggested that he go see the rest of Guardians again Jack objected by stating that Bunny would not be pleased with him about something.

Jack had eventually given up on trying to convince him. When his offers of stories could not distract Jamie enough, he ended up leaving. He did not even fly off the windowsill anymore, but slid back down the side of the house to reach the ground. He traveled away on foot. He called to Jamie that he would be back sometime when his believer was ready to have fun. He said that he would be waiting.

Jamie saw him catch the wind after a few tries and soar into the sky without his usual grace. In a matter of moments he was out of sight, leaving a rather irked and concerned child behind.


	10. Assistance Sent

The moment Jack was gone Jamie went back to his window and waited. Anxiety was twisting his stomach into knots. At this point he would not be surprised if Pitch showed up. There was no sign of the Boogeyman though and Jamie could not even bring himself to be grateful for that.

When Jack had shown up Jamie had honestly been somewhat alarmed. The spark of excitement that was always present in Jack’s eyes was completely gone. What was left looked and sounded like Jack but did not act like him. What was more was how Jack carried himself, like someone who was just too weary to keep smiling. He had seemed so tired and lacking in patience. Jack had never voluntarily left his company either, not when Jamie had so obviously wanted it. Something was very wrong with the spirit or he would not be like this. The most obvious cause was the green mark that had slowly spread towards his face.

Jack had said that the green markings on him had come from another spirit. Perhaps the other spirits would know how to help him. The way Jack had talked about Bunny made it seem as if he would know what was going on. Jamie knew Bunny and Jack were friends from they way they would tease each other and compete in a friendly way. Jamie would prefer to risk Jack’s anger than let him struggle with this alone, so he knew that alerting Bunny was a good option. It was obvious that the spirit was not thinking clearly and would not ask for help from his friends.

Jamie knew that he should tell the Guardians, but he also knew that it would be tricky to contact the ones that were associated with holidays. He had an idea of how to alert them though. The trick would be not alerting everyone else too. It was lucky that his mother had gone out to the store after she was certain Sophie was occupied with her toys and would go to her brother if she needed anything. Jamie hoped that she would stay out long enough so as to not catch him doing this.

He waited only a moment more before he sprung into action. He raised his hands to his mouth and called.

“Saaanndmaaan! Sandman!” He bellowed it at the top of his lungs.

He paused. A dog started howling in the distance.

Jamie was just starting to contemplate knocking out one of his baby teeth early to bait a Tooth fairy when he got a response. Dreamsand swirled tentatively outside the window panes but did not enter. His method had worked more swiftly than he could have hoped for. He supposed it was getting late and some of the kids in the neighborhood had early bedtimes. It was a good thing too or it could have taken Sandman hours to find him.

Sandy had been about to weave his dreamsand throughout the neighborhood when a child’s voice shattered the silence. The other children stirred and Sandy’s work was interrupted. His eyes widened when he realized it was someone calling for him. It came from a neighborhood of their strongest believers so it was possible that someone wanted to talk with him.

Usually he kept a distance from townships when he wove his dreams for them, but Burgess was a special place for all of the Guardians, especially Sandy and Jack. When Pitch had shot that corrupting arrow through his sandy core he had taken refuge here. He had hid inside the dreams of their strongest believer.

It took a few moments but Sandy flew up to the window, hoping that his presence would not make the child shout anymore and wake the neighborhood. Did the child realize he was likely catching his parents’ attention as well?

Sandy found himself face to face with Jamie Bennett, the boy that had saved them. Sandy went on full alert when he saw the look on Jamie’s face.

“Sandman!” Jamie rushed. “I need you to go check on Jack.”

Sanderson pulled a confused expression and a question mark appeared above his head. Jamie hastened to explain.

“He’s really sick. He was just here. He seemed really strange, like he couldn’t smile anymore and that green stuff on his back is getting worse.” Jamie swallowed, expression distraught.

Sandy laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.

“Please, you need to help him. He’s having trouble flying and he keeps saying that Bunny’s going to be mad- Does he mean Aster?”

It seemed Jack had told Jamie about his friendly spring adversary. Sandy quickly brought himself back to what Jamie was worrying about. Sandy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. From Jamie’s description Sandy was able to piece together what was happening to Jack.

Only one thing, besides black sand, could have made a blemish on a spirit like Jack. A green mark was fairly unique in the spirit world. Out of all of the dangerous things Jack could run into in their existence this had the highest probability of being suspect, especially when considering Jack’s big heart. He would have been curious enough to seek it out and then stay when he saw its source.

If Jack had gotten into this without Bunny’s help...Jack really needed Bunny, and soon. Sandy hated to think of what would happen should it spread. It would twist and corrupt the host, snuffing out the light if it could not turn it. Other spirits had faded this way, putting their cores in danger without any hope to anchor them into their reality. Bunny was the harbinger of light and hope on the light side just as Pitch was one for the darkness. Evil always possessed hope that it would rise again, more beautiful and terrible than before. They were both immune to this kind of contamination and could fight it.

Jack was hardly an evil spirit though and with his goodness his body would not accept the manipulation. He would perish if this took hold of him.

Sandy knew what he had to do and quickly. He was a spirit older than the hills and he knew how to keep a cool head in times of crisis. First he would take care of Jack’s believer. And so, he turned his attention back to Jamie. Sandy showed Jamie several pictures. He showed the silhouette of himself catching up to the silhouette of Jack.

“You’ll find him?”

Sandy nodded and displayed a snowflake beside a large dial safe. He waited for Jamie to interpret the symbols.

“You’ll keep him safe?”

Sandy nodded more enthusiastically, letting his sincerity show in his gaze. Jamie exhaled. He smiled gratefully at the little dreamweaver.

“Thank you.”

Sandman smiled back and hopped up onto his cloud. He levitated forward and only hesitated a moment before he pressed his index finger to the center of Jamie’s forehead. Jamie’s eyes rolled back in his head and his body went limp with sleep. He caught Jamie as the child’s legs gave out from beneath him. He went to go deposit the boy back in bed. Sandy did not want Jamie to stay up, worrying himself sick about his friend. It sounded like they already had one sick child on their hands that needed their help. With Jamie safe and snoozing away Sandy needed to rustle up the others. He would not be able to find Jack without their friends.

He left the room and shot up into the inky sky like a small golden shooting star. He transformed his cloud into his trusty plane that he had come to rely on for transportation.

First off he needed to get Bunny and have the Guardian to help him search for their frost sprite. He knew that the Guardian of spring had his methods of sensing warm and cold. While not spanning the entire globe, pooka senses were still fairly keen. Bunny seemed to have an innate ability to guess where people would turn up and how to pursue them. He had tracked down Sandy many times using little more than his nose. They would definitely need to use his abilities this time to be able to find their friend. It sounded like Jack was fading fast.

Sandy put on a burst of speed in his plane. Hopefully it was not already too late to fetch help for him.

 

* * *

 

The warren was not quite so bright and sunny with it still being winter, but it was bright enough for composting like Bunny was doing now. He had paused in his work to be confronted with the unexpected sight of Sandy zooming towards him on a handglider. The small Guardian had recycled the dreamsand plane so that he could fit through the tunnels.

He quickly landed and started explaining the emergency to Bunnymund. He produced a positive flurry of symbols in his haste and waited for Bunny to interpret. It was obvious that Sandy had thought that with all of their experiences together that Bunny would be the swiftest to understand him. Apparently he had been wrong.

“What do you mean he’s a clover?”

Sandy cupped his face in his palm. This would all be a lot easier if the Guardians had the hand coordination (and number of fingers) for sign language. He patiently restarted the flurry of symbols over his head. Bunny watched them, eyes darting back and forth like he was reading. Sandy finally used a helpful symbol that Bunny could interpret. The miniature gold amphibian floated above Sandy’s head beside a snowflake.

“No, ye can’t be serious. He gave me his promise he wouldn’t look into that.” Even as he denied it, Bunny’s voice became a little frantic.

A question mark appeared above Sandy’s head. Bunny explained in turn.

“I made him swear he would stay away from the frogs. I know I should have rounded you all up for another trip or even just gone by myself but Christmas was still on and you know how North wanted to be a part of it.”

This was all becoming a mess. Bunny’s face was shadowed as he recalled all of the secrecy and promises he had encouraged instead of just explaining himself. He could have shown Jack. This could have been avoided if they had made the trip together.

Sandy rested a hand on his arm, giving him a look that told him it was not his fault. Bunny was not inclined to believe him though.

“You said he came into contact with them again?”

When Sandy nodded, Bunny grimaced.

“This ain’t good, not when he’s such a new spirit and considering his type. Is he in danger, Sandy?”

He felt his gut twist. He knew the stakes, knew of others who had made the same mistake. If only he had been more forthright with Jack. He had been so concerned though that Jack would do something like this if he knew that he needed to travel with Bunny and the others. The restriction would have not sat well with him. The new Guardian had a soft heart and a rebellious streak that was a mile wide.

While looking at Sandy, Bunnymund saw the truth. His ears flattened back. This was not good at all. He knew enough to guess what was happening and why.

“Where is he?”

Sandy shrugged, frowning.

Bunny mumbled to himself, picking through places Jack liked to hide out in his mind. Surely he could not have gotten far, not with the beginnings of corruption overtaking him. Bunny grimaced at the thought. It was awful to think that Jack was out there right now struggling through this. They needed to get to him quickly.

A shadow passed over them as they stood in the muddy garden. The refreshed soil darkened for a moment and Bunny stiffened.

Sandy was too busy trying to come up with decipherable suggestions to notice that something was happening. Bunny’s hands twitched towards his boomerangs as he straightened. Something was not right and a presence crept closer to them. The foreboding grew as the sunlight dimmed around them, leaving the shadows deeper around the spring trees and freshly churned earth.

A current ran through the atmosphere and caused his fur to stand on end. A breeze swept through the warren. Just when the scent of decay hit his nose a very familiar silhouette appeared not far away. The long skinny void stood proud and tall.

“I thought I caught a whiff of fear.”

To say Bunny was furious would have been a vast understatement. The fur stood up on the back of his neck and his body pointed froward like a hunting dog catching a scent.

The gall of the spirit appearing here, in his warren-

“Don’t get your tail in a twist, rabbit. I’m not actually there. I’m just using a bit of Sanderson’s dreamsand for my own amusement.”

Bunny was practically hissing and his ears had flattened down to his skull. Sandy was frowning again.

“Why are you here?” Bunny’s tone was carefully measured as he enunciated each word. He would quite like to tear into the Nightmare king for daring to enter his sanctum after what he had done to his holiday.

“I thought I just said that. Pay attention, for I have no patience to listen to fools, not even when I am feeling inclined to give them something of value.”

Bunny scoffed. He should have known this was all an attempted elaborate trick. Pitch had no real power anymore but it did not stop him from trying to bargain with the Guardians. “You have nothing I want. Now get out before I-”

“Before you threaten me you may want to listen to what I have to say. You wish to know the whereabouts of Jack? I know the location. You could be there in as soon as takes you to open one of your tunnels, but...” Pitch’s silhouette held up a finger to stay any arguments. “Will he want you there after you all tried to deceive him and keep him in the dark? He knew nothing, nothing at all about the creatures you’ve been keeping from him. In his desperation he came to me for answers.”

“You did this!” Bunny’s rage never sounded quite so animalistic. He knew how well Pitch could twist words and situations to evoke temptation as it led to his ultimate gain. Aster could easily see how Pitch had preyed on Jack’s strong emotions and empathy to send him into something he was unprepared for. A spirit, especially a new spirit, needed the tools to protect his core.

Pitch calmly continued. “Me? I was not the one who forbid Jack to investigate. I did not withhold information that only served to entice him. That blunder belongs entirely to you.”

“Why I ought to...” Bunny growled more threats at Pitch. The Boogeyman was going to pay for his deceit in regards to their newest member.

Pitch did not lash out or mock him but calmly stated the facts.

“Jack is fading fast. Do you really think that a Spirit of Fun with only a handful of believers could survive the Corruption this long? He’s been visiting the hospitals for over a week. Without my help you’ll be too late.” Pitch paused, silhouette turning as if to look off into the distance. “In fact, you are already too late.”

Bunny’s eyes widened as his blood thundered in his ears. It could not be so. It had to be another one of Pitch’s tricks. He glanced over at Sandy to see his reaction but the little man was not looking at him. Sandy was glaring with complete and utter ferocity at Pitch. Bunny could not recall seeing their small dreamweaver looking quite so venomous before and it took him aback a little. It seemed that he was not the only one with a temper.

“It’s a shame really, such a new Guardian, so full of potential, so clueless... He thought the wards were there to keep spirits out of the hospitals. If the wards did such a thing then he would not have run afoul of our slimy friends, hmm?” Pitch said it with such convincing finality that Bunny almost dared to believe him. “I’ll almost miss him.”

Bunny’s instincts kicked in and he cast all of Pitch’s words out of his thoughts. That false sympathy was just another trademark of Pitch's when he was manipulating them.

Adrenaline thrummed through his body. He was about to charge Pitch’s silhouette, not particularly caring whether it was futile or not. He needed something to direct all of this rage at. Before he could charge into battle the pillar of sand started to disappear.

Sandy and Bunny watched Pitch’s shadow dissipate and drift away in the wind. The warren was left silent in his wake, as if his presence had just all been a bad dream. The fury pulsing through their veins spoke otherwise though. They stood there, stunned for a moment in the wake of the confrontation. Sandy worried at his lip and clenched his fists. Bunny tilted an ear towards him and spoke hurriedly.

“Don’t listen to him. He’s just trying to get into our heads as he always does.”

He knelt down. He was all business now with Pitch not filling up their heads with lies. They needed to help Jack, wherever he was. The Guardian of Hope placed his paws on Sandman’s shoulders.

“Listen, I need you to gather the others-” Sandy protested with a look. Bunny continued undeterred, gaze a little desperate. “I know you want to be there for Jack but right now I’m the only Guardian who can get there by sense. I need to have back up waiting for me when I get there.”

Sandy gave him a dubious look. He was fairly certain that Bunny could manage without back up.

“Please Sandy, we don’t know if Pitch is guardin’ him. I’ll need all the strength I’ve got just healing him if the corruption’s been spreading. I can’t fight off his nightmares too.”

Sandy’s determined look faded a little. He knew that Bunny’s reasoning was flawless in this case. As powerful as Bunny was, his healing magic would require all of his concentration. Sandy let out a silent sigh and tilted his head in acknowledgment.

“Good man. Tell North to follow my trail. I’ll be leaving new blossoms all over until I find Frost.”

Sandy nodded and saluted. There was nothing more to debate, for with the arrangement of duties made up all that was left was to carry them out. They would each split up and go their separate ways.

Bunny bounded over to a tunnel that let out towards the east coast of the US. Jack could not have gone far. Sandy had revealed that he had just come from Burgess and Jack had such a powerful tie to that place that he would avoid leaving it right away. Sandy went to go seek the rest of their teammates and follow Bunny’s trail. Time was ticking and neither of them could afford to be late.

 


	11. He Ain't Heavy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for grim themes and drowning related scenarios!

Jack’s limbs had been encompassed by a sort of fuzzy numbness. The thoughts that he reached for eluded him as they got mixed up in the transition of information from brain to body. It was like trying to hold onto a wave or catch a falling meteor and the efforts that were exuded were in vain.

He was running and he could not stop himself from doing so. He had to keep going, keep flying. He was tired and his vision was obscured by something blurry and green. He could not even bring himself to be annoyed about the impediment. It was just him and Wind out here to witness his erratic flight and his struggles to keep moving.

The wilderness he was soaring through was gradually becoming flatter with shorter stumpier trees. The soil was composed of less clay and more sand, a sign that he was closing in on the coast. He barely registered the rise and crash of the waves, only noting the strength of the wind. With the wind being this strong he might actually be able to cross a fair distance. He would need Wind's might to catapult him up, and so he had to go to where Wind was strongest and that was the shore. He had to put a few miles between him an Burgess and the Guardians. This seemed as good a method as any and any doubtful reactions he had were smothered by his apathetic state.

Normally he would have balked at crossing the water, especially in this condition. His caution was gone though and all that was left was the numbness and urgency that kept him moving forward. He was drawn towards the ocean, catching air currents that whipped over the churning water.

The wind picked up and tried to bear him safely upward toward the heavens. He listed towards the right and squinted while trying to see his surroundings. The drag on his body increased twofold and he felt himself sinking instead of rising like he should. The water was beneath him and Jack was trying his utmost to catch a strong gust by now.

The icy air had no effect on his thawing body when it should have been as a balm. He barely felt a sliver of fear.

The increasing weight pulled on his body and swallowed him whole. He felt his heart skip as he came into contact with the surface and kept falling. He sank down and down...past the rhythmic waves and the eddies. His mouth opened and bubbles escaped. He watched the light above him fade and morph into a deep blue green and darkness.

Like it had been in the past, it was as beautiful as it was terrifying. When the moment came that he should be struggling for breath he found himself inhaling and going down deeper. He drifted and hit the bottom. His heart jolted as his body struck the uneven ocean floor.

Light sparkled above him tauntingly as he attempted to move. His arms and legs felt like they were made out of lead and his back and neck were practically plastered to where they had fallen. He could not budge an inch and he was drowning because of it. The strange heavy absence of his thoughts weighed him in place as he accepted his fate. He had been doing what was right...

...though perhaps he was saddened in a way. He did not know why.

The Spirit of Fun lay on the bottom of the North Atlantic, immobile and being overtaken by a sickly green hue. His white hair waved in the currents and his lips parted to let the last of the air escape from his mouth. His fate was in the hands of Man in Moon again, and it was doubtful if Jack could be revived a second time.

 

* * *

 

Bunny felt his sides burn as he huffed and puffed and ran at top speed. He checked Jack’s lake, the neighborhood of Burgess, and then he had widened his search pattern to extend towards the weak echo of cold permeating the air. He traveled east and kept going as the land flattened out and the wind picked up. The east coast was receiving a very early hint of spring this year as branches on flowering trees prematurely budded. He left a trail of blooming snowdrops, crocus, and narcissus.

All along a shadow followed him. Again it was not Pitch himself but a dark avatar of his weakened power and it loomed behind him like an unwelcome hitchhiker. It did not bother him at first as unsettling as it was, but then it revealed its ability to project speech from its master. It turned out to be a chatty thing and it was getting on Bunny’s last nerve.

At first it taunted him with promises that he would be too late. When Bunny ignored all of the remarks about that the Boogeyman said things that were more interesting but still reproachful. He mostly insulted his capabilities as a Guardian and Bunny only exchanged an insult or two back before Pitch tried a similar but more unnerving tactic. He started talking about the ones he cared about.

“You’ve already failed Jack and the others. I’m sure that I don’t have to remind you.”

Bunny grunted a growl but kept moving forward.

“You have a lot to make up for, rabbit.”

Bunny gritted his teeth and ran faster. The chilly wind bit into his fur and he sped on, ignoring the echo of Pitch’s voice even as it managed to penetrate his thoughts.

“You left those children to fend for themselves.”

The genuine bite to the chastisement caused Bunny’s ears to flick and he slowed a little despite himself. He did not believe that Pitch was mad about that of all things.

“Oh yeah? Why do you care?”

Bunny knew how Pitch feasted on despair and horror. Surely the selfish nightmare king was pleased that Bunny had stopped interfering and left him ample opportunity to take over where he should like.

“I care more than you would think. Do you think that I enjoy visiting the dying? They can’t even properly fear me. No screams, no pleading for mercy or hearts beating wildly with terror...It’s boring.”

The statement seemed strangely banal like the Boogeyman had been forced to watch a dull television program.

“Now I can have what I want, fear competing with hope and one less Guardian around trying to thwart me. It’s a win win situation, wouldn’t you say?”

Bunny made a frustrated sound and stretched his senses out until he found a very weak and rapidly vanishing trail. He pelted down it using all of the speed he had available. Even Pitch could not keep up with him. However, it did not stop Pitch from shouting discouragements after him as he vanished.

Bunny ran onward, taking great heaving breaths. He was closing in on the end of Jack’s trail and where his frosty aura completely disappeared. His stomach was in knots with the implication of his complete absence and the presence of the water. Bunny stopped at the end of the path and ended up right beside the ocean. The beach was empty save for a few gulls, crabs, and the pounding surf. His heart constricted in his chest as he started to bellow Jack’s name, trying to catch sight of the frost spirit.

The wind was gusting wildly over him, swirling over the water. Bunny had never encountered winds moving quite so strangely before. As he shouted for Jack his attention was drawn to Jack’s longtime companion.

Wind was an entity that favored winter and Jack’s kind spiritual essence. It seemed that she was trying to catch Bunny’s attention and with her efforts she had succeeded. The wind pulled at his fur in all different directions, curling and swooping over him. Wind pulled at the surface of the water and splashed the surface upward like it was physically trying to lift the ocean from its sandy plinth. Bunny finally got the idea.

He approached the water, icy chill permeating his skin. The water was far from temperate at this time of year but he would bear it if he must. He entered the ocean and shivered as the icy foam kissed his hide. He knew that this would not be pleasant at all but he pushed those thoughts from his mind as he concentrated on finding Jack. He must be below the surf.

Spirits could not drown but Bunny still found himself alarmed. To be in the ocean, unmoving, was a sign that the corruption had taken hold. Bunny had to get to him soon or it would really be too late.

The wind tore at the water over the spot, splashing Bunny as it tried to show him where Jack supposedly was. Trying to block all dread out, Bunny dived down towards the ocean floor. He saw the glimmer of blue and white all the way at the bottom through the murky haze. He kicked his feet to propel himself. His paws reached for the immobile body. He grabbed handfuls of sodden hoodie and wrenched hard to bring Jack's body towards him. The slim spirit weighed a ton in the water. Bunny saw the reason for the weight when he spotted the green tendrils of corruption overtaking Jack’s form from toe to crown. He was in the final stages of corruption before a spirit could lose itself. The observation only prompted Bunny to pull harder until he had Jack in his arms.

He kicked and struggled towards the surface, draping Jack’s solid weight over his shoulder. It was difficult work and Bunny was struggling to hold his breath. At last he finally broke the surface and took a quick inhale.

The bedraggled winter spirit vomited up water on his back. He otherwise did not move but lay limply across Bunny’s shoulder, as a still form. Bunny grunted and kept kicking his feet to keep them floating. Jack’s weight nearly dragged them back down under several times so that the Spirit of Hope had to keep gasping for air when he was fortunate enough to resurface. Praying that Sandy had managed to gather the others and mobilize them, he shouted.

“North! Tooth!”

Bunny was nearly brought down again as he shouted for help.

“Sandy!”

The next moments moved almost as a blur as he felt multiple hands grab him. Fingers twisted painfully into his fur to find a grip and haul him up. Bunny found himself being tugged out of the water by the smaller Guardians until he was dropped onto dry land by North. The changing of hands left him dazed only for a moment. He crawled towards the shock of white hair and blue cloth, both of while were nearly covered with a murky green.

“Everybody-” Bunny wheezed. “Everybody get back. He needs my powers.”

Tooth stuttered. “W-what! But Bunny-”

North gently nudged Sandy and Tooth back. “We should listen. Back up!”

Bunny was too waterlogged to split hairs with them right now. The important thing was to impart his magic onto Jack as soon as possible. The green tendrils of corruption were spreading over his cheek and chin and pooling into his eye socket. Jack still had his eyes tight shut, which was worrisome considering all the commotion that he had just been through. He must be very close to being lost to still be unresponsive like this.  
  
“Come on, Frosty” Bunny whispered. The jibe was spoken with fondness and more than a little worry.

He was trying to center himself enough so that he could start the healing process.

“You gotta spread some mischief yet. Can’t have people forgetting to have fun.”

Already he felt the tingling in his hands that signaled that his ancient magic was stirring. His paws were glowing faintly as he propped Jack up. He slid a paw under Jack’s neck as he supported him.

His grip tightened on the limp spirit. It did not look like Jack was breathing even though Bunny knew his airways were clear. The corruption had been spreading so rapidly.

“Come on, show me a sign of life.”

Jack was not stirring at all and Bunny was starting to feel his heart sink and seize.

“Jack!” Bunny’s voice had grown frantic. “Come on. Come on now.”

“Jack-”

Jack twitched. Bunny pulled away, eyes widening.

He could see Jack grimacing and squirming away from his glowing aura. Bunny’s ears flipped forward as he pulled Jack against him, his light meeting the corruption in Jack’s system. The opposing forces were starting to battle until the lesser one was extinguished. His healing was working, albeit slowly.

In a surprising feat of strength Bunny straightened up with Jack in his arms. They were still soaked through and in Bunny’s case, shivering uncontrollably. Jack’s lead weight had not lightened much with the corruption still deeply ingrained in his core. Bunny would have to channel more magic into him to start reversing it and all of its effects.

“We should get him back to the Pole. I can heal him there just as well as I could at the Warren and he’ll like the cold.”

North was already digging around in his pockets for a snowglobe. When he managed to unearth one from deep in his coat he spoke the workshop’s location in a rush. He threw the ball and the swirling portal appeared. Bunny had never been so thankful for the appearance of North's magic.

“Go on ahead. We’ll follow,” North prompted Bunny to go first.

“Alright.”

Though Bunny usually mistrusted any form of transportation besides his tunnels he made no complaint about using the portal this time. The less Jack was jostled around the better.

  
Bearing Jack carefully, he strode through to the other side. The rest of the Guardians were right on his heels and they all vanished into the vortex. The blue and violet mass closed behind them with a quiet ‘pop’.

The shore carried on in their wake and the crabs and the shorebirds continued to meander about. The waves crashed onto the shore like thunder in the quiet. It was like the spirits had never been there. No sign of the terror and surprise of the previous moments remained in any form in this peaceful setting.

 

* * *

 

When Jack came to he was only aware of sensations around him. He was uncomfortably warm with the heat only increasing in steady increments. Usually heat did not bother him unless he happened to be close to the equator and even then it was a mild irritant.

This heat was like being in the tropics in full force and tripling that. He felt actual sweat break out on his forehead. He tried to squirm away but he found his wrists pinned to his sides and a heavy weight keeping him immobile. The heat intensified and he made a noise.

Voices hushed him and a small delicate hand stroked back his sweaty hair. Very gradually, the warmth began to fade away. His struggles began to die down when he no longer felt the need to escape.

The fur was peeled off of him. Someone gently touched his face with the rough pads of their paws as if checking his temperature. They wheezed for breath above him. When they spoke their strained voice was almost unrecognizable.

“We should probably get-” 

There was a loud thump.

“Bunny!”

“I’m all right. I’m all right. I probably just channeled a little too much of my magic out at once.”

There were sounds of a light struggle and the chirps of small tooth fairies. There was an exhausted groan and grumble.

“No, you stay put and I’ll go get North. Girls, stand guard.” Tooth’s tone was uncharacteristically harsh. Many determined chirps answered her.

“Really Sheila, I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll have none of your blustering, Aster. I _am_ going for help, and unless you’re suddenly well enough to stop me then you’ll just have accept that it is going to happen.”

Ouch. If Jack was fully awake he would have made a remark about offering ice for that sick burn Toothiana just gave him. He smirked the slightest bit.

“Jack, can you hear us?”

The question startled him slightly. He had not known that the others were watching him and his reactions. He opened his eyes to find Tooth hovering over him and Bunny propped up precariously on the furniture nearby.

Bunny looked awful, with bags under his eyes and the luster gone from his fur. He seemed quite drained but when he saw Jack looking back at him he broke into a smile.

“ ‘ow you feelin’?”

Jack considered the question for a moment. He felt tired and achy mostly, like he had just run a marathon, not that he had ever been in a marathon. His brain felt strangely woozy and slow.

“Could be better. Better than I was though.”

Bunny wore a satisfied expression.

“That’ll be the magic takin’ its course. Give yourself a nice long kip and you’ll start to recover.” He paused to consider. “Which is more than what can be said for me at present.”

His sheepish admission was more for Tooth’s benefit. She gave him a nod and left the room, leaving her fairies to keep close watch on him in her absence. They seemed to take the job very seriously and they watched Bunny so intently that his fur was standing slightly on end. He gave Jack a small smile though.

“Glad you’re back with us, mate.”

The look Bunny was giving him was clear and unclouded but Jack could tell that the Pooka was thinking hard.

“We're going to have to talk... not about anything bad, so don’t look like that. We’re going to talk about how we make our visits to hospitals all together. You’ll have plenty of time to recover before we even discuss it.” Bunny told him all of this carefully as he watched him.

Already Jack was starting to lose his battle with sleep and he felt his eyes gradually start to drift shut. He was so tired still and this was such a comfortable bed he was lying in. As he was beginning to drift off he heard North storm into the room and start berating Bunny for draining his magic. He heard the big man help the pooka up from where he had slumped over.

Jack could no longer resist the irresistible call of Morpheus. He knew that Sandman would be visiting soon after.


	12. Promise

When next Jack stirred he could not help but notice that he was starting to feel a little like his old self. The weight he was carrying across his shoulders had all but vanished during his slumber, as did the heavy foreign emotions he had been toting around with him. They had lightened but something was left in their place that still felt fragile. Jack passed over the sensation to take stock of the rest of his body and search for any changes.

His magic was back. He could feel the cold river of power running through his core yet again as the strength and will of winter returned to him. The power tingled through his fingers and remained at the ready should he decide to use it. He passed over it for now and started listening to what was in the room.

He could hear North talking to a silent individual, most likely Sandman. He could also hear the quiet comments of Tooth and Bunny. They were not all hanging around in the same room here, surely?

Jack opened his eyes and slowly sat up. He had the satisfaction of seeing all of their surprised faces turn towards him.

“So, what did I miss?”

Tooth’s face lit up. “Jack!”

She zoomed in on swift wings to embrace him. Jack was engulfed by the brush of many feathers and the fussing of tiny tooth fairies.

“We’re so glad you’re all right! We were so worried.”

The soft pitter patter of paws behind her drew Jack’s attention away so that he was looking at Bunny. He had vague recollections of the worn out spirit of Easter overseeing his rescue and recovery from the predicament. He remembered that Bunny had been surprisingly dedicated to ensuring his safety. He knew that their long history of rivalry had evolved into teasing and competitiveness but he knew that Bunny had gone above and beyond anything to help him.

Jack glanced down at his hands on the covers, not trusting himself to look Bunny in the eye.

“I guess I owe you one.”

He left off his usual playful address of “Cottontail” as he would have. He shot Bunny a look before he glanced quickly away. What he had seen of Bunny’s face told him that he did not regret bailing him out of the circumstances at all.

“Yah would’ve done the same for me if given the chance.”

Jack nodded and sighed. The sigh was hardly one of relief and he seemed to hunch over on himself slightly. Bunny watched this with a frown.

“What’s eatin yah, mate?”

“I- nothing, I just-”

To voice this worry aloud seemed vain. He should be grateful for the fact that he did not handle it alone as he was used to doing. Still, he could not help but feel he had not sufficiently risen to the occasion.

Sandman soundlessly floated over and laid a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder. His warm open gaze encouraged Jack to spill the beans more than any cajoling ever could.

“I just wish I could have gotten myself out of that mess. I wasn’t thinking straight, I know, but I wanted to help those kids so much.”

North stepped up and ruffled his hair. The others drew back to give North and Jack some space.

“Jack, very few of us can stand up to the Spirits of Resignation and Despair. No one’s core is ever truly immune but we can withstand it together with our combined strength.”

Jack seemed to be thinking over his words.

“But you guys can take them on alone though too, right? If Bunny or Tooth had to face them alone they wouldn’t have become corrupted like I did.”

Tooth bit her lip and the others shifted uncomfortably. Jack’s expression started to fall. He knew he was not as strong as the other Guardians and if anything this misadventure had only served to drive home that message. He had fallen victim to Pitch’s manipulation and rushed into a situation he had very much not been prepared for handling. His glum expression quickly gave away his thoughts.

“Jack, do not be so hard on yourself. You will be able to face them when you are ready,” North told him encouragingly.

“Give yourself a millennium, mate, and you can take on just about anything.”

When the words did not appear to be cheering him up in the slightest North sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. The mattress springs protested with a loud creak. After a thoughtful look, North imparted on him his words of wisdom.

“So you cannot take on the frogs alone, so what? You take on fear with a laugh and that is something none of us can do. Just like with people, hmm? Not everyone is meant to be a soldier or a healer or great philosopher. Some people are meant to discover, to create, and to inspire. Jack, Man in Moon chose you not because you are Bunny or you are Tooth. Just like the Earth can not be made up of just Bunnys and Tooths”

Jack looked up to meet his eyes. North was smiling softly at him, expression reminiscent of when he had helped Jack find his core value.

“You are Jack Frost,” North said warmly. “And there is only one Jack Frost.”

Jack felt a lump lodge in his throat.

In the next moment he felt large warm arms embrace him, smelling vaguely of peppermint, cookies, and all things Christmas. A furred paw stroked his crown and feathers and sand brushed against his back.

After a few moments of the affection from the other Guardians Jack found himself drawing back with a slight smile. They were right about him as they often were. Jack hoped that someday he would become as wise as their teachings and as comforting a their presence. They made their fair share of mistakes but they always made up for them. Jack was grateful that his efforts had not completely been in vain in regards to the hospitals.

A thought occurred to him. “Has Pitch said anything to you guys about returning? Those wards can’t keep him out.”

Tooth and North sighed somewhat sadly.

“The wards are to keep the frog spirits inside of the building so that their contamination won’t spread. They were put there to keep the other children and spirits safe,” Tooth stated.

North shrugged. “Pitch is hardly strong enough to visit anywhere for long and with us around to keep him away he won’t be making himself comfortable anywhere.”

Jack found himself feeling a bit more reassured.

“And since we made new connections at your party we can recruit some of the others to help keep the hospitals safe,” North added.

Tooth nodded enthusiastically.

Jack could not help but notice that Bunny had been strangely quiet during this whole exchange. Jack looked for him over Sandman’s shoulder to find the Spirit of Hope cradling something gently between his paws. Jack blinked. It was the cape he had been wearing to cover up the corruption on his back.

“I believe this is yours.”

Bunny handed the deep blue fabric to him with an odd sort of reverence. Jack took the fabric back and lay it in his lap.

Bunny’s expression showed his discomfort. “I almost ripped it up when I found out how it had been hiding the corruption.”

Tooth lay a hand on Bunny’s shoulder and turned her gaze toward Jack, silently asking for forgiveness on Bunny’s behalf.

“We found out it was from Jamie, your first believer. Gifts like that can have a kind of magic in them beyond their intended purpose. Jack, that cape likely saved you. It protected you just long enough for us to reach you and heal your core,” Tooth said.

Jack stared down at the second-hand blanket with raised eyebrows.

“Gifts from kids carry their regard with them. Jamie’s belief kept you safe,” Bunny informed him.

Jack looked at the innocuous bolt of fabric with new wonder. He had treasured it as a token of good will from his believer but to learn that it had such a strong effect on his fate was humbling in a way. He would be sure to tell his young believer how he had helped him. Speaking of which…

“Is Jamie okay? I- We had a fight. I said some things that were stupid.”

Jack would never have intentionally hurt Jamie’s feelings and now he felt a spike of fear at the thought that he might have driven him away.

Sandman started forming sand symbols quickly as Tooth explained.

“Oh Jack, he’s only worried for you. He’s all right. I went to talk with him and he’s eager to see you again.”

Jack felt relief well up in him and he gave a deep exhale. Everything was going to be all right after all. Even after so much darkness and fear it seemed that everything, even all of their mistakes, could be mended.

* * *

  
It was only a couple of days later when Jack was allowed up to walk around but with strict orders not to overexert himself. Phil affectionately threatened to barricade him into the workshop if he let himself become exhausted. Jack had laughed and accepted the restrictions...within reason. He promised to cause plenty of mischief to keep Phil busy. Phil growled his irritation but seemed to accept the friendly barb and waved his fist after him while grumbling curses about his interrupted work.

Jack chuckled, knowing that it was all a front.

While he was walking around the workshop he caught a glimpse of Tooth’s shimmering feathers among the hubbub. She had been gone for much of the day and Jack had presumed she had gone back to work. He did not expect her to hovering around the workshop. The other Guardians had hung around too, only taking occasional trips out into the world to keep fulfilling their duties.

Jack’s heart did a strange skip as he noticed the familiar figure speaking with her. The person was short with brown hair and a smile that seemed to light up their surroundings.

“Jamie?” Jack stopped in his tracks.

Jamie paused and turned towards him. The wonder on his features morphed into joy and he crossed the room at a run.

“Jack!”

Jack just barely managed to catch himself as the boy threw his arms around him in a fierce embrace.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” Jamie said.

The sincerity of the statement made Jack blink rapidly. The strong emotions bubbling to the surface nearly overwhelmed him in a good way. Tooth floated up to them slowly, warm smile gracing her features.

“He didn’t even want to tour the workshop first. He insisted on seeing you.”

Jamie looked up at him, hair ruffled from their hug. The next moment Jack swore he had never seen a more adorable or heart thawing moment as when Jamie spoke next.

“It wouldn’t be fun without you.”

Jamie’s gaze was telling him how much he missed him, how he easily forgave him and worried about him. Their friendship needed no words and Jack found that he was grateful that they did not have to say what they were thinking aloud. He would have been a tearful mess. It took Jack a moment to collect himself as it was. He rose above the emotions in order to prompt them into taking the tour as Jamie had mentioned. He would often look back on this moment and treasure it for years to come. 

“Okay kiddo, let me show you around. We’ll save North’s workshop for last. He makes the most amazing ice sculptures...”

Jack and Jamie started walking off together, the tall Guardian hefting his crook over his shoulder as he pointed out interesting elements on the main floor. Jamie pointed out exciting things about the toys. The sound of their laughter mingled with the general hustle and bustle. All around them the Yetis smiled and showed off their productivity. They invited Jack and Jamie to try out and sample things during their tour.

Bunny leaned against a doorframe, fond smirk on his features as he watched the two disappear into the general chaos. North and Sandy stood beside him while Tooth hovered around, trying to hide her smile but happily failing at it.

“He’s gonna be all right,” Bunny assured them.

North nodded in agreement.

Their little frost sprite was healed of all contamination and was already smiling and laughing again. Some of the trauma and hurt still lingered, but given time and kindness he would slowly come to terms with it. He was still fragile at the moment though.

Tooth turned to them. “Are you sure you still want to take him on our trips to see the kids in the hospitals? He’s doing fine with Jamie and his believers.”

She was implying that the older Guardians would be the ones to handle cheering up the patients. After what Jack had been through with the frog spirits it was a sensible suggestion. Bunny shook his head.

“The little ones could use someone like Jack around. Besides, I’ll be there to protect him. I have a lot to make up for, and not just to Jack.”

The admission was a heavy one, but necessary. Bunny did not take neglect of his duties lightly and he knew he would have to get back there on the field and visit the hospitals soon. He was not dreading it though, quite the contrary. He was the Guardian of Hope for a reason. Even those bleak places could not dampen his bright spirit. Instead, he infused those facilities with excitement and hope of his own.

A large human hand landed on his shoulder.

“We all have much to make up for,” North chimed in.

Tooth and Sandy were nodding.

“Of course you’re right, we look after _all_ of the children,” Tooth acknowledged.

They all turned, almost subconsciously, towards the globe. The lights were shining brightly and seemed all the more vibrant in the moment. Each was a child who needed them and their protection. It was almost a solemn but simultaneously happy thing that they were responsible for every single pinprick of illumination.

“We take care of them all. Not just the healthy,” Bunny stated.

And the best part of it was that they were not going to do it alone.

 

* * *

 

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stories tend to be more meaningful when you know the story behind them, so I shall share a rehash of this one. I’ve been chronically ill for 8 years. After two major surgeries I managed to recover.
> 
> Bunny will always hold a special place in my heart. When I was having trouble walking and talking I imagined him letting me lean on his arm and whispering encouragements to me. He helped take my mind off the pain and provided enough peace to make me want to keep fighting. I’m grateful for fantastic characters such as these to rely on.
> 
> Thank you ROTG fandom! You’ve been so encouraging and kind and I appreciate your feedback and kudos! ♡


End file.
